Residents in Bowness are now being asked to boil water before any consumption and the rest of Calgarians will have Stage 4 watering restrictions – meaning no outdoor water use – as the city deals with a massive water main break in the northwest.
Also, as of 6:45 a.m. Thursday, there is a citywide fire ban in Calgary, as ordered by Calgary Fire Chief Steve Dongworth.
The City of Calgary issued the first alert on the break at 9:35 p.m. Thursday, saying that a major water main break in the communities of Bowness and Montgomery was being investigated. They’ve since said it was on a critical transmission line that moves water across the city.
Calgary has now enacted its Municipal Emergency Plan and at this time there is no estimate for how long the boil water advisory will be in place, or how long water restrictions will be necessary. They said crews will work 24/7 to complete the necessary repair work.
“Our teams are working together to investigate and repair this break, and our CEMA agency partners are working together to prioritize the most urgent needs and support safe and adequate water supply across the City of Calgary,” said Calgary Emergency Management Agency Chief Sue Henry.
“Unfortunately, this water main break is large and complicated and this makes an estimate on when the issue will be resolved difficult to predict.”
Henry said that every drop of water will count and she's urging Calgarians to consider the water they use.
"Regardless of where you live in Calgary, this outage will put pressure on all water sources across the city. For those of you waking up this morning, that feel unimpacted by this outage, we need your help," Henry said.
"Our focus is on making sure our water supply is safe and available for critical uses. We're asking you to make temporary sacrifices so that everyone has access to water for these truly critical issues."
Nancy Mackay, director of Water Services for the City of Calgary, said the break was on one of the City's critical pipes.
"It's called a feeder main and it enables us to move water across the city. The event has had an impact on the quality of the water in Bowness and seriously impacting our ability to move water around the city," she said.
"We do not have an estimate for how long the the water reductions will be necessary or the boil water will be in place. Surely we need everyone's help. We ask you to be prepared for a potentially extended period of time while we're assessing the situation to get more information to you."
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek reassured area residents that everything possible was being done to restore service.
"I realized that this morning's emergency alert was quite jarring, and I appreciate that everyone paid attention to the need to conserve water right now," she said.
"To the residents and businesses in both Bowness and Montgomery: Please know that the city is working as quickly as we can to ensure that things are returned to normal for you. We know how disruptive and how scary things were for you when you received this information last night and our teams have your safety and your family's top of mind as they are doing this work."
Video of the Calgary water main break
Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp was travelling through Bowness when LWC reached her Thursday morning. She said the City had already put out boil water advisory signs letting people know of the restrictions. Though, she also said that not everyone has water.
There are four water trucks around the community for people to access clean drinking water, she said. Those are located at the Bowness Community Association, the Bow Crest Nursing Home, Our Lady of Assumption School, and the Belvedere Parkway School.
Coun. Sharp said they've been pushing out as much information as possible to area residents via social media and other messaging through different channels.
"There are some issues because we have a lot of seniors living in Bowness that may or may not be getting the information as quickly as they can," Sharp said.
Bowness resident Randy Risling was near the scene and shot video showing that parts of 16 Avenue were underwater. The video shows water having spread into the Shouldice Park area. Risling said that the break appears to have happened along the boulevard in front of the Montgomery Safeway.
Fire crews were in the area and according to the YYC Transportation X account, the 16 Avenue NW was closed at Home Road. Roads around the impacted area are still closed.
The City of Calgary continues to ask people to find alternate routes travelling around the area, and understand that there may be traffic impacts as a result of the water main break.
The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) sent a notice to parents to let them know that schools are still open, and that porta-potties have been brought in, along with bottled water, so kids have proper drinking water. Water has been shut off at seven schools in the area.
