Calgary’s State of Local Emergency (SOLE) has ended as the conditions that require it to be in place are no longer there, according to Calgary’s Emergency Management Agency Chief Sue Henry.
That was the latest and last scheduled daily update done as a part of the SOLE, provided at the Emergency Operations Centre on Thursday afternoon.
Chief Sue Henry said that the SOLE was initially declared when they found the additional emergency repairs at the five hotspots. Now, with the water main repaired and operating at half capacity with no issues, they no longer require the additional powers provided under the SOLE.
“I want to stress that the lifting of the state of local emergency does not mean things have gone back to normal,” Henry said.
“The feeder main is still not operating at full capacity, and stage four outdoor water restrictions remain in place.”
Chief Henry said that they aren’t yet at a point where they can relax the outdoor restrictions and drop them to stage three. In the meantime, Calgarians can still gather river water at the seven outdoor locations around Calgary and collect the recently plentiful rainfall.
Mayor Jyoti Gondek thanks Calgarians for continuing to ease into normal indoor water use. On Wednesday, Calgary and area communities consumed 480 million litres – a slight increase over the prior day, but still at the threshold that was set early on in the feeder main rupture.
“That shows us that, as we have asked you to do your part, especially now easing into not having reductions indoors, you have done a fantastic job, and I can’t thank you enough for that,” said Mayor Gondek.
Pipe diver is now in action
Water Services launched a tool called a pipe diver into the 11-kilometre section that was recently repaired. It’s a high-resolution, electromagnetic and ultrasound tool for large pipe diameter sections.
“It operates while the pipe is in service, providing a pipe wall condition assessment, including identifying if there are any wire breaks in the pipe and pinpointing any areas of distress,” said Francois Bouchart, director of capital priorities and investments.
Bouchart said that the inspection was taking place today and will take about 12 hours for the device to swim the length of the pipe. They expect to receive the analysis in a month and will determine if any further investigation or repair work is needed.
After that, a fiber-optic cable will be put into the pipe. Bouchart said it’s a longer-term solution that will provide ongoing information on the pipe’s ongoing condition.
Glenmore water treatment plant maintenance, after that plant carried the water production load over the past month, is expected to be complete on Friday. Bouchart said that once that’s complete, and the system remains stable, they can gradually increase supply in the pipe.
After that, they can begin to ease some of the outdoor water restrictions. Currently, the Bearspaw feeder main is operating at 50 per cent capacity and 73 per cent of its normal operating pressure.
Mayor Gondek addressed further questions over the mounting costs for the water main repair, along with the extended amount of time expected for a full, third-party, independent review.
On the former, she said it wouldn’t be wise to pick and choose costs right now when the event isn’t complete. Emergency management officials have been tracking the costs and once the entire operation is complete, a figure will be made available.
The review is expected to take up to a year, after City of Calgary administration discussed with industry experts the amount of time it would take to conduct a proper investigation.
“We rely on those experts to let us know how long this will take, and I would say Calgarians deserve all of the answers to their questions,” said Mayor Gondek.
“They deserve to know what happened, why it happened, and how we will ensure it doesn’t happen again, and to do that, you need to take the time to do a proper review.”
