‘All hands on deck situation’: City of Calgary declares state of local emergency over water main break

The City of Calgary declared a local state of emergency Saturday morning in response to the latest developments’s in a major water main break impacting the city.

Friday, city officials released an assessment that revealed five more hot spots require fixing, which they say will be done simultaneously using a number of private contractors in addition to city crews.

The early assessment suggests that it may take three to five more weeks to complete the repairs.

“The decision to declare a State of Local Emergency was not taken lightly, and it was done to ensure we are prepared for all eventualities in the drive to have this water feeder main restoration work done as quickly and safely as possible,” said Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek. “I am grateful to the Government of Alberta for endorsing this approach and offering their support as we address this critical water situation.”

Gondek said the local emergency declaration was related to the repair process which might involve going on private property. while doing repairs, and not to the water supply.

“The state of local emergency is not linked to the level of water in the reservoirs.” Gondek said, in reply to a question from a reporter.

Gondek said the city has reached out to industry for assistance to help fix the five hot spots simultaneously.

“This is an all-hands-on-deck situation,” she said.

She was also adamant about the need for Calgarians to continue to cut water consumption after Friday’s consumption level came in at 484 million litres, the same as Thursday’s.

“I have to ask you to do a little bit more,” she said.

She also said Calgarians should take advantage of the rainy weekend forecast for the city.

This is a developing story that will be updated as more information becomes available.

The next update from the city is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday. Log on to CTV Calgary to see it live.