Calgary mayor suggests ‘positive news’ coming on water line break

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek hinted positive news is on the horizon when it comes to the city’s ongoing water woes in an update Tuesday morning.

“I have heard that this update may have some positive news on timing for water service to be restored but again, the teams are working on that right now and will have more to offer you at 2 p.m.,” she said, referring to the update planned for later in the day.

Gondek explained repairs are in the final stages, but the pipe still needs to be flushed and tested before it can be used.

The start of the independent review promised by the mayor is also nearing reality, she said.

“That third-party independent panel of experts will get to the bottom of what happened and the steps that were taken,” Gondek said. “CAO Duckworth intends to bring this framework for the panel to the Infrastructure and Planning Committee next week and it will then come to a full meeting of council in July.

“This independent review is critical to make us better and to offer transparency to all of you.”

Last week, the mayor also said she would raise questions at Tuesday’s council meeting regarding the budget and maintaining infrastructure.

Despite this good news, Gondek said there was an uptick in water usage Monday, as Calgarians used around 476 million litres.

She explains that is too close to the safe threshold needed in case of fire or other emergencies, and reiterated the importance of being vigilant in water usage.

“We need to be down a little bit more to ensure that we have water stored up in case of any emergencies like the one we saw in Prestwick,” Gondek said. “Now is the time to keep up your great efforts like the things you’ve been doing shorter showers, skipping that load of laundry and ensuring that you’re collecting rain water for watering your plants.

“You’ve been doing great work, please just keep at it.”