Calgary used the most water citywide since the start of the water feeder main repair, putting the city over its threshold limit.  

Mayor Jyoti Gondek once again urged people to continue water conservation efforts during the critical final stages of returning water service to normal in Calgary.  The mayor made the comments during her Friday morning update to citizens.

“Yesterday’s 500 million liters used was the most that we have used since the start of this water crisis, and that number is well above the safety threshold of 480 million liters of water that we need to stay under to ensure that we are covered for any emergencies like life-saving measures needed in hospitals or care facilities, as well as having water on hand for Calgary Fire Department,” she said.

Water use has steadily been increasing over the past week after Calgary hit a low in water use. Since the Bearspaw feeder main ruptured, the City of Calgary has urged a 25 per cent reduction in water use to allow for the return of water to 23 reservoirs located in neighbourhoods across the city.

Mayor Gondek said that the job is not done. While the main feeder line is repaired, along with the five identified hot spots, they still must fill, flush, test and stabilize the system. She said the first stage of filling the pipe is taking longer than they expected but should be complete Friday night.

“When we cautioned that in these final stages, we had to take it easy when introducing water back into the system, this is the type of situation we were describing,” Mayor Gondek said.

“We have updated timelines that tell us that filling will be complete late tonight, and that’s why I have said repeatedly, and I will say it again, we all need to keep reducing our water usage.”

The mayor acknowledged that seven million litres of the water in Thursday’s consumption was the result of the refilling of the once-broken water feeder main. It requires 14 million litres in total to fill, and that water is coming from the Bearspaw water treatment plant.

In Friday afternoon’s update, Calgary Emergency Management Agency Chief Sue Henry said that the opening of Sikome Lake this weekend was the result of water from three separate wells that are on the provincial park site. She said it does not make a draw on City of Calgary water supply.

“For those of you seeking a refreshing water experience this weekend, Sikome Lake is a public beach available for use and you can find more information on Alberta parks.ca,” she said.

‘Can-do’ attitude

The mayor implored citizens to embrace a can-do attitude to help finish the final stages of the water service repair, using several examples of the city, Calgarians and Canadians overcoming great odds to achieve success.

“We are known as a can-do city. We can do difficult things, and we have a legacy of not giving up when times are tough,” she said.

“Now some people might think that using a quarter less water is too hard during a water crisis, a three-minute shower is too high of a bar, that waiting for the dishwasher to be full before turning it on is just a bridge too far or not going to the car wash for a few weeks is not something that they can do.

“Calgary. We have done hard things in the past, and we can do hard things now.”

The mayor said that there is a contingency plan in place should they encounter any problems during the fill and flush stages. The pipeline is being monitored with sensors during these stages.

Infrastructure Services GM Michael Thompson confirmed on Friday afternoon that equipment and parts remain on the sites in case there is a problem while they fill, flush, test and stabilize. He said there is a rapid-response plan in place in case there are emerging issues during this process.

“As I’ve said over the last few days this is a risky phase. In the event there’s an issue we have contingency plans in place,” Thompson said.

Thompson also said that 16 Avenue NW is open to increased traffic volume on Friday, though there are localized closures in place due to the testing and monitoring of the repaired line.

Citizens may see water – sometimes discoloured – flowing from pipes and fire hydrants and that this is a normal part of flushing the system. After that, the water will be tested to ensure it meets drinking water standards.

Dr. Franco Rizzuti with Alberta Health Services said that there are three parts to the testing: they look for residual chlorination, turbidity (clarity of the water) and then they do bacteriological testing for any harmful pathogens. Once the final flushing parameters have been met, Dr. Rizzuti said that the final samples will be taken and tested. The results will come back in 24 hours.

“This information will allow Alberta Health Services, Environment and Protected Areas and the City of Calgary water team to review the data and ensure that this water is safe for consumption, which would indicate that ability to proceed to the next step of the return to service plan,” he said.

“I want to stress, if we are not satisfied with these results, we will be working with the City of Calgary to consider other options. This may include additional flushing.”