A ‘catastrophic’ failure of Calgary’s largest feeder main means boil water advisories and water restrictions will remain in place until a fix is complete.

When that fix will be done has yet to be determined.

In an afternoon update, the City of Calgary’s director of water services Nancy Mackay said that the 11-kilometre line varies up to two metres in width, and supplies 1.2 million people in south and east Calgary, along with customers in Airdrie, Chestermere and Strathmore.

Mackay said they’ve narrowed down the location of the break and they’ve begun digging up the area continuing work to pinpoint the exact break in the pipe.

“We will take the time to get to the exact location and determine our approach once we’re able to surface the pipe and will actually then be able to see the size, where we still have not been able to see what exactly needs to be replaced,” she said.  

“We are working on a repair plan regardless for this as we move forward.”

The feeder main was installed in 1975 and it made of precast concrete with pressurized pipe, with wire and steel reinforcement.

“We do regular asset maintenance, or we get out there and see what our assets are the pipes look like,” Mackay said.

“When we do those assessments 95 per cent of our distribution system is rated good or very good. That said, this is a catastrophic break that is impacting so many of us.”

Mayor Jyoti Gondek said that Calgarians should expect that the City of Calgary crews will have located the source of the break within the next two days. As far as a repair timeline, that will be determined when they see the extent of damage to the feeder main.

“Bowness and Montgomery residents, please know how much people care about you – both the people that are in your communities and in the city, but also the folks that work at the City of Calgary,” said Mayor Gondek.

“Their top priority right now is to take care of the situation so that your service is restored.”

Boil water, Stage 4 restrictions remain in place

Mayor Gondek said she was able to tour the area of the break and put the size of the pipe in context.

“For anyone who’s wondering, the context of a feeder main versus a water main, as Chief Henry has indicated to us, you can literally drive a truck through the feeder main that has broken,” she said.

“If you are going by the site, you can see trailers that are parked there for the crews. Those trailers fit in this pipe. So, it’s a pretty significant piece of infrastructure.”

Chief Sue Henry said all boil water advisories and the Stage 4 outdoor water restrictions remain in place. She added that as people return home to conduct their daily routines to be especially conscious of the need to preserve water during this critical shortage.

“While we are doing a great job at conserving water at this time, we need to encourage continued diligence this evening,” she said.  

“As we know, evenings are typically a time when we see higher water usage.”

Henry added that the City of Calgary is supporting conservation efforts by closing city pools and arenas, with some athletic parks experiencing disruptions, including not having shower facilities.

Mackay said it’s possible that come tomorrow morning, other parts of Calgary could see an impact on their water. At this time, until they learn more information, it’s difficult to speculate on the outcome.

“There is a possibility. Again, which is why we need everyone to do their part so that there’s enough for everyone and we’re able to move that water through the system with the capabilities of the mains that we have to move that water around,” she said.

There are nine water wagons that have been placed throughout the Bowness area for citizens to access clean drinking water.