More repairs are needed on the beleaguered Bearspaw water feeder main, and the City of Calgary will return to Stage 4 outdoor water restrictions on Aug. 26.

That’s the latest update from Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek and Infrastructure Services GM Michael Thompson on Wednesday afternoon after last Friday pausing the daily updates until this week.

Last week, the City of Calgary decided to turn off the third water pump that it had been easing back into service since the June 5 break and subsequent repairs. That was due to the number of wire snaps they had been hearing since ramping the pressure back up.

That limited Calgary’s maximum water capacity to 70 per cent, and not enough to further remove restrictions.

This new development comes after the City of Calgary determined through the use of the PipeDiver tool that there were multiple other issues inside the Bearspaw water feeder main. The PipeDiver scanned the 10.4 kilometres of the feeder main from the inside.

The City received data from the PipeDiver on July 26 and it revealed more work is needed on more than a dozen areas.  

Repairs will begin on Aug. 28, with restrictions starting before that time. Immediate repair work is expected to take until the end of September.

“We are able to confirm that, much like the hot spots that we uncovered during the original feeder main break in June, there are 16 more sites right now that require attention in the short term,” Mayor Gondek said.

“To be clear, the pipe is not facing an immediate break at any of these sites. Rather, there are enough points of weakness or strain in these sections that maintenance work needs to be completed before the end of September. This is not an emergency situation like the one that we faced in June. It is planned maintenance that’s based on the results of the PipeDiver.”

Restrictions and repairs

Mayor Gondek said that it will mean the City of Calgary and its surrounding partners will have to re-enter Stage 4 outdoor water restrictions beginning Aug. 26. They will also ask people to reduce their indoor water use by 25 per cent.  This is the result of having to shut down the Bearspaw water feeder main to do the repairs.

The repairs will impact businesses and residents in the communities of Bowness and Montgomery.

“I know this is not the news that any of us wanted to hear. At the same time, I’m grateful that we have this important information that allows us to act in a manner that protects our water system against any potential breaks to everyone in the Calgary region, particularly the residents and businesses in Bowness and Montgomery,” said Mayor Gondek.

“I understand how much this impacts your life, and I know that we are asking a lot from you. Please know that in addition to this repair work, we will also continue to do everything we can to improve the stability and certainty of water service in our city.”

Calgary and neighbouring communities that use the water – Airdrie, Strathmore, Chestermere and Tsuut’ina Nation – will be relying upon the Glenmore water treatment plant until the repairs are done.

GM Thompson said that the news means that they will be asking residents and businesses to conserve water indoors.

“Businesses use water in different ways, so we will be asking them to find ways to aim for a 25 per cent reduction in daily water use, starting on August 26 and during the period of the closure,” he said.

“Unlike last time, we do not intend to request closure of specific businesses unless it is absolutely necessary. We will not be closing indoor pools, either at either hotels or recreation centers, and we will not be closing arenas.”

Both Mayor Gondek and GM Thompson said that once work begins, it will be done 24 hours a day, seven days a week until they’re complete. Thompson said that it was important for the work to be done swiftly, not only to limit the discomfort of citizens, but to ensure that there’s an adequate water supply through the winter. Bearspaw water treatment plant gets its water from the Bow River, while the Glenmore treatment plant gets water from the Elbow River.

The Elbow River drops significantly in the winter, and the City must replenish the Glenmore Reservoir with higher water levels in summer and fall before winter arrives, Thompson said.

Cost of the original repairs

Since the start of the initial pipe break in early June, the City of Calgary’s emergency officials have said that costs are being tallied on the repairs of the original break and the subsequent five hotspots.

Thompson said they’ve now tallied the costs for the first phase of repairs, including the original break, repairs of the hotspots, purchasing the materials, planning for contingencies, enhanced operations at the Glenmore water treatment plant and other services like the provision of non-potable water pickup locations. They said the cost is between $20 million and $25 million.

“We will share more information on the cost estimates of the upcoming repairs as they become available,” Thompson said.

Mayor Gondek said they’re going to do their best to meet the September timeline for these repairs, but recognize that once they begin to open up the ground and get a closer look at the pipe or other circumstances, that timeline may change. This time, however, it’s planned maintenance instead of responding to an emergency, and the experienced they gained with the prior repairs will help with the new ones.

“What we are faced with in addressing parts of our critical water infrastructure is frustrating, it’s unfortunate and it’s incredibly inconvenient, but it is fixable,” she said.

“All the experiences that we have had to date with this feeder main have positioned us to address weaknesses and stress points, and we are sharing our experiences with other cities who have been reaching out to us with grave concern that they might find themselves in the same position of a catastrophic break.”