Calgary water main break repair to take at least 5-7 days

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While Calgarians’ water use has dropped significantly, it’ll be at least another five to seven days before normal service is restored as crews work to repair a crippled water main, city officials said Saturday morning.

Calgarians are now using as much water as is becoming available, or about 25 per cent less than their normal consumption, said city officials.

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But that’s leaving the city’s water supply situation on a knife’s edge and one that won’t be fully relieved for at least another five to seven days, or until a two-metre-diameter feeder main is fully repaired and flushed out, they said.

“We asked you to do a little bit extra to save water and I’m thrilled to say you’re listening and are stepping up,” said Calgary water services director Nancy Mackay.

“This puts our supply at a more sustainable position — that being said, we need to keep this work up,” she said. “There is still a high risk we can run out of water if we don’t continue (rationing).”

Water use fell Friday to 480 million litres, down from 610 million litres which was outstripping supply, she said, adding they’re hoping to maintain that lower level of consumption.

Reduced water consumption has allowed the city to slowly replenish a series of underground reservoirs spread throughout the city.

Feeder main break cut Calgary’s water supply by 40%

The rupture occurred Wednesday evening 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, as wide as two metres and is used to transport water across the city. The pipe typically delivers water to more than 1.2 million customers in Calgary, while also transporting water to Airdrie, Chestermere and Strathmore.

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With its loss, the supply of water to the city dropped by 40 per cent and led to Level 4 water rationing, which bans all outdoor water use in addition to a plea for the public to cut back on indoor consumption, along with a boil-water order for residents of Bowness.

On Friday, city crews were able to expose and isolate that catastrophic break while clearing water and earth from the site with hopes of determining the cause and begin removing the broken pipe, said Chris Huston, the city’s manager of drinking water distribution.

“We’re making good progress but it’s important to know it’s complex and it’ll take some time to get back in service, at least another five to seven days until the situation is resolved,” said Huston.

He said it’s still not clear what caused the catastrophic break in the 49-year-old section, adding much older pipes haven’t failed.

“We weren’t expecting something like this to happen, we would have expected this pipe to last a lot longer,” said Huston.

WATCH: City of Calgary update on critical water main break (10 a.m. Saturday)

City of Calgary officials provided more information Saturday morning about a large water main break that has impacted supplies across the city. Watch here:

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Share your water conservation tips

With the city asking residents to “do their part” to protect the city’s remaining water supply, we want to hear your unique tips and tricks. Email us at calgarynewsletters@postmedia.com and share what you are doing to conserve water.

Calgary’s drinking water ‘artery’ was severed by water main break

Here are a few facts and figures about the water main break, which has impacted the availability of drinking water across Calgary and beyond.

Bowness residents and businesses grapple with extended water crisis

It was Brenda Booth’s first trip to a curbside water wagon but the Bowness resident doubts it’ll be her last.

The 66-year-old was filling up a variety of water receptacles Saturday afternoon not long after city officials revealed repairs of a ruptured water feeder main in neighbouring Montgomery will take at least a week.

Her household — which like all others in Bowness has been under a boil-water advisory since Thursday — had consumed water so quickly, she was forced to make a trip to the city-provided water wagon parked outside the Bowness Community Association.

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Mayor Jyoti Gondek implored Calgarians to patronize Bowness businesses hurt by a misconception the community is shut down.

One of those businesses, Leopold’s Tavern, is suffering from those false optics, said bartender Sarah Soroka.

“On a Saturday, this place would be filled both inside and outside,” she said, scanning the mostly empty pub.

Read more.

City of Calgary to ramp up enforcement of outdoor water restrictions and fire ban

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

Since the crisis began, city bylaw officers have issued 61 warnings to people misusing water after following up on 300 complaint calls, while responding to 34 calls of outdoor fires, which are also banned to reduce the potential instances of water-intensive fire fighting, Calgary Emergency Management Agency Chief Sue Henry said.

So far, no fines have been issued with officers taking an educational approach “but if that warning continues to be unsuccessful, we will move to enforcement action with tickets,” said Henry on Saturday.

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“Every small action you take makes a big difference.”

However, those who are unco-operative will begin to face stiffer penalties.

“We will begin some enforcement actions this weekend where we are getting repeated calls for water misuse,” Henry said. “The majority of citizens continue to be compliant and understanding.”

Calgary’s 311 call centre has been flooded with inquiries since the beginning of the current water crisis.

“There have been 1,800 calls directly related to this event,” Henry said. “This averages about 30 to 40 calls per hour.”

Most calls were from residents looking for information and reporting water misuse, she said.

Given the large volume of people on the phone line, Henry encouraged callers to be patient if they are queued after calling 311.

WATCH: City crews at work repairing huge water main break

The city of Calgary shared video Saturday showing some of the work being done to fix the feeder main in Montgomery that ruptured last Wednesday night.

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‘This is not some kind of conspiracy’

While the vast majority of Calgarians are heeding orders and advisories, some are not and are even openly mocking the city’s warnings of a dire water shortage, the mayor noted.

“Keep talking to your family and friends who don’t think this is a serious situation,” said Gondek.

“This is not a joke, this is not some kind of conspiracy, this is a fact. Hospitals, care facilities and schools are counting on us to be able to provide their critical services.”

She said 700 businesses have been contacted to ensure they reduce their water usage.

The more reminders issued about the city’s situation, the better Calgarians’ response has been to do things like reduce toilet flushes, shower times, use of appliances and ensuring taps aren’t running, said the mayor.

‘Now is not the right time to wash your car’

“We need your help to save water for the next few days while crews continue to work on the problem,” said Henry on Friday.

“Now is not the right time to wash your car,” she said. “You don’t need to wash your vehicle unless for some reason there’s a health and safety risk associated with (it).”

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For showers, Henry encouraged Calgarians to “get in, do the basics, and get out.”

Residents have also been asked to be more judicious about flushing toilets and to put off washing dishes and laundry.

Performing water-intensive indoor chores during off-peak hours isn’t helpful, Mackay said, as the concern over the city’s ability to supply water is centred on the total volume being used, regardless of the time of day.

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.

“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.”

With files from Ricky Leong

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