Calgary ‘not out of the woods’ on water main repair, Gondek says

In a morning update about the work being done to repair Calgary’s broken water main, Mayor Jyoti Gondek congratulated the efforts of all Calgarians but said the conservation guidelines could remain in place until the middle of next week.

“Because you have been so committed to conserving your water, we remain at a very stable place in terms of our water supply,” Gondek said during Wednesday morning’s availability.

Water use was up slightly on Tuesday from the day before, but she said it was below the threshold.

The mayor said Calgary is “not out of the woods yet” and more work is needed before life can return to normal.

“There are three main stages that remain in terms of the water restoration plan. Firstly, we need to install and weld the replacement pipe. That pipe was sent to site yesterday and the installation is going to take approximately two days,” Gondek said.

The feeder main will need to be filled and flushed to remove sediment from the pipe and prepare it for flow from the Bearspaw treatment plant.

The last stage will be restoring supplies of treated water to Calgary’s underground reservoirs.

“This is going to take about two days and that includes water quality testing,” Gondek said.

Calgary city crews pulled out the broken sections of water main on Tuesday and the new section will be put in place on Wednesday.

What do Calgarians do now?

Gondek says all Calgarians need to keep up with all of the measures they’ve adopted to cut down on water use in their homes.

“I’m having lots of conversations with a lot of neighbours and friends about what they’ve been doing to save water. Some of you are making low-prep meals like sandwiches and some of you are barbecuing to cut down on the number of dishes you need to use.

“All of you are doing an excellent job. Every day, your collective actions are saving approximately 50 Olympic swimming pools of water.”

Gondek said there is also some positive news about the situation in Bowness, after Alberta Health Services (AHS) lifted a boil water advisory for the community earlier this week.

“Since Friday, AHS has assessed 12 samples of water in Bowness and they’ve confirmed that water quality has been restored.”

Gondek also encouraged all Calgarians to support the affected community this weekend when considering plans for Father’s Day.

“They’ve been through a lot for the past few days, so if you’re looking for a gift for dad or looking for some activities to do, please head out on the weekend and show the folks down there some love.”

Another update on the water main break repair is expected at 2 p.m. MT.