Calgarians urged to turn off taps as crews work to fix water main

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City officials implored Calgarians to reduce water usage Friday, as demand continued to outstrip supply and crews work round the clock to restore a distribution network hobbled by a critical water main break.

Repairs to the ruptured feeder main will take days, Calgary water services director Nancy Mackay said Friday afternoon, and people should continue to curtail water use until things return to normal.

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The city can currently produce 520 million litres of water a day, she noted, but recent demand reached 610 million litres, taxing a series of underground drinking water reservoirs spread throughout the city.

“We won’t run out tomorrow, but I can tell you we will run out in the days to come,” if public consumption doesn’t decrease, Mackay warned.

She said Calgarians did a good job of conserving water during the day Thursday, but that usage crept up in the late afternoon and evening. She added the city is urging residents to use 25 per cent less water than they did Thursday.

“This current level of water use cannot continue,” she said. “If we do not reduce our water use even further, we’re at risk of running out.

“We are trying to get back to normal as fast as we can, but this is a massive break that cannot be repaired in a day or two.”

Officials weren’t able Friday to provide a timeline for the repairs and were still trying to determine what caused the “catastrophic” water main break on Wednesday night that flooded streets in northwest Calgary, cut access to water for residents in some neighbourhoods and lowered supply across the city to critical levels.

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The rupture occurred near 16th Avenue and Home Road N.W. on a critical water transmission line. Known as the Bearspaw South feeder main, the pipe is 11 kilometres long, two metres wide and is used to transport water across the city. The pipe delivers water to 1.2 million customers in Calgary, while also transporting water to Airdrie, Chestermere and Strathmore.

Built in 1975, the feeder main was last inspected in April, according to Mayor Jyoti Gondek.

“This is definitely a feeder main that we knew needed some attention,” she told reporters at an unrelated media availability on Thursday afternoon.

The burst water main closed traffic access to 16th Avenue near Home Road N.W. and has affected the entire city, from residents, schools, city-operated recreational centres and businesses.

It also triggered a boil-water order for residents in Bowness, which remained in effect Friday afternoon. The order requires Bownesians to bring water to a rolling boil for at least one minute before consuming it.

Nine water wagons have been stationed around Bowness since Thursday to supply residents with clean water.

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Also still in effect are Stage 4 water restrictions citywide, which prohibit all outdoor watering and urge all Calgarians to avoid or limit showering, bathing, washing dishes or running any appliances that use water.

A citywide fire ban also remains in place.

“We need your help to save water for the next few days while crews continue to work on the problem,” said Sue Henry, chief of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA).

Henry said bylaw officers responded to 170 service calls about misuse of water and issued four warnings as of 4 p.m. on Friday. Most of the infractions related to watering of lawns, particularly by automated sprinkler systems.

The city also received eight reports of prohibited fires on Thursday.

Bylaw officers are taking an “education-first approach” to these incidents, according to Henry, who noted that most violators have been apologetic and compliant once they are told that water must be conserved.

Calgary fire Chief Steve Dongworth also issued a plea to Calgarians on Friday to use less water, to ensure firefighters are able to draw from local sources.

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“Water is an essential commodity for us to fight fires and protect our community,” he said. “The fire department needs water to keep all of you safe.”

Competitive swim meet goes ahead, despite water shortage

While city-operated aquatic centres remained closed, a YMCA in Calgary is still hosting a competitive swim meet this weekend.

The Killarney Swim Club’s Long Course Invitational was slated to begin Friday afternoon at the Brookfield Residential YMCA in Seton, wrapping up on Sunday.

A Critical Water Supply Alert is posted on YMCA Calgary’s blog, indicating that “there is no access to our pools and arenas, and we are limiting non-essential water where possible.”

However, a spokesperson for YMCA Calgary confirmed Friday the Killarney Swim Club’s meet was granted permission to go ahead.

YMCA Calgary’s vice-president of community engagement Dean Paddock said that after consultation, “advice has been received from municipal and sports agencies to proceed,” adding that YMCA Calgary is taking necessary steps with the event organizers to limit non-essential water usage, such as by asking athletes to limit shower times.

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“To my knowledge, a small number of competitive, time-sensitive events have been permitted to continue,” Paddock wrote in an email to Postmedia.

“These are sanctioned, provincial events that are essential for the athletic development of the participants and are competitive — not recreational. They are a direct pathway to national and international competition to meet national selection deadlines.”

Paddock added that YMCA Calgary has posted operational effects related to the alert from the city and has “prominently displayed (that info) on our website.”

The Calgary Stampeders’ home game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats was also scheduled to go ahead Friday evening at McMahon Stadium.

Asked why the game wasn’t postponed, Mackay said that “things like this do not have a large draw on our water supply and we understand the game will go ahead as planned.”

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