The City of Calgary has opened the Emergency Operations Centre and is activating the Municipal Emergency Plan after a massive water main break in the northwest.
The City of Calgary is currently investigating the cause and extent of damage from a water main break east of Sarcee Trail and the 16 Avenue NW interchange.
“Given its location and an initial assessment, we expect the break is related to the Bearpaw South Feeder main,” the City of Calgary said in a news release.
“We are assessing the water pressure to determine the impacts to residents in neighbouring communities.”
Water poured from a large water main break in northwest Calgary on Tuesday evening, stranding motorists and leaving crews managing an icy mess.
Sawyer Colbourne was driving along 16 Avenue NW moments before the asphalt parted and water started pouring from underground.
“I was definitely scared and had first assumed it was a car accident because of how erratically the car ahead of me was moving but then saw all of the water, which was when the pavement basically exploded apart and lifted up the vehicle in the video,” Colbourne told LWC via direct message.
Colbourne said that there was an endless stream of water that looked like more than a simple water main break. Redditors had posted comments on a thread related to the water main break that they were experiencing water pressure issues in their neighbourhoods.
“The break in the video looked like the water was reaching well over 6 inches,” Colbourne said.
“As I was walking away, I had even heard someone yelling that some cars were getting so flooded that the occupants needed to get on the roof of their car. Scary stuff.”
The City of Calgary said that it would be providing a public update once more information is known.
“The Calgary Police Service and the Calgary Fire Department are also at the location to detour traffic around the area. Please avoid the area,” read the release.
“You can find all traffic impacts on the roads and traffic web page at https://www.calgary.ca/roads/conditions/traffic.html”
Reached late Tuesday evening, Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said there were few clear details on the break and that more information would be provided early on Wednesday morning.
“If I had comments, it’s … a big thank you to the first responders, as well as a thank you to the public for helping accommodate us and give room and space for the workers to do the work,” he told LWC.
An independent inquiry into the catastrophic failure of the Bearspaw South Feeder Main in June 2024 was expected to yield a report by the end of this year. A city report on the infrastructure disaster pointed to multiple factors in the rupture, including microcracking in the mortar covering on the precast concrete pipe, along with wire snaps due to corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement.
