Water now flowing through repaired Calgary tap water system, but restrictions remain on home usage

Water is slowly flowing once again through Calgary’s tap water system after nearly a month of repairs following a massive rupture, but restrictions on home usage will continue for the foreseeable future as crews stabilize the network of pipes to ensure new breakages don’t occur.

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek announced the completion of repairs at a press conference Sunday afternoon where she also pleaded with her city’s 1.6 million residents and those in neighbouring communities to continue conserving water as the authorities work to bring the system back online over the next three to five days.

“This does not mean that water is immediately going to surge through that two-metre pipe to safely stabilize the water system. We must have a gentle and cautious approach as valves are being reopened and we are being watchful as we are doing this work,” she said.

Ms. Gondek, who said last week she is skipping showers and – when she does bathe – saves a bucket of water to do her dishes, was flanked by four municipal and provincial officials who all gave small updates on their work and reiterated variations of her daily ask to residents since the June 5 pipe break: “Please keep up your water conservation efforts.”

People were told last month to restrict their indoor water use by flushing their toilets less often, taking three-minute showers and doing fewer loads of laundry. Outdoor water use has been banned. Residents have been encouraged to rely on rainwater for their gardens.

Calgarians seem to be doing their part this Canada Day long weekend after the mayor chided them Friday for letting their vigilance slip to Thursday’s peak usage of 500 million litres, which is 20 million litres above the daily limit. On Sunday, Ms. Gondek praised people for the city system only dispersing 447 million litres the day before, which helped ensure first responders could properly address emergencies.

Early Sunday morning, a fire destroyed Ol’ Beautiful’s craft brewery despite firefighters dumping roughly a million litres of water on the blaze, she said. There were no reported injuries.

In an interview with The Globe and Mail two weeks ago, Ms. Gondek warned her counterparts across the country the concrete pipes that ruptured in Calgary’s system are vulnerable to such catastrophes and are in use elsewhere in North America. She and other city officials insist the June rupture happened without warning, although Calgary and other jurisdictions have long known about the risks associated with this type of pipe.

Another update on the water restrictions and efforts to restore the system is promised for Canada Day.