The City of Calgary is in the final stages of repair on the latest Bearspaw South feeder main break, with the new pipe segment now welded in place.

Officials provided an update on the feeder main fix on Jan. 8, 2026, along with making a plea to Calgarians to continue water conservation, as consumption remained stubbornly above the 485 million litre sustainable target the city has set out (507 million litres).

Though the physical repair work is largely complete, Infrastructure Services GM Michael Thompson said that the part with the most risk lies ahead.  It involves a four-stage process that will begin once the site is backfilled and road repairs begin.

“We have four next steps: Filling the feeder main, testing the water, stabilizing the system, and easing out of water conservation,” he said.

“This is delicate work. Each one of these steps carries risk, and it is likely that we could have setbacks along the way.”

Thompson said that once they reach the filling stage, which requires 22 million litres of water, the risks to the pipe increase. Water testing will then be done, and it takes 24 hours to analyze the growth of any bacteria.

“Once the water in the pipe meets or exceeds all safety and regulatory requirements, we will start flowing water from the feeder main through the rest of our system,” Thompson said.

“This step involves turning on pumps at the Bearspaw plant, which will increase pressure in the feeder main and start water flowing through our network. Stabilizing the system will take about 48 hours.

“This stage has the highest level of risk.”

According to Calgary Emergency Management Agency Chief Sue Henry, they will be taking temporary steps to protect the nearby communities from potential future breaks. Two segments of the Bow River flood barrier along Montgomery Blvd NW, across from Bow View Manor will be removed.

“This flood barrier is meant to keep river water out of the community, but if there is a break in the pipe, it would also trap water in the community,” she said.

“Removing these sections of the berm will allow the water to flow into the river and help protect the surrounding area.”

The 30-litre challenge

Chief Henry continued to make the plea to all Calgarians, and to water system users in Airdrie, Chestermere, Strathmore, and the Tsuut’ina Nation, to limit water use where possible. She said the 507 million litres used on Wednesday kept Calgary at an unsustainable water use level.

“Unsustainable means there is no wiggle room to meet the kind of demand we’ve been seeing. We are operating at full tilt, putting pressure on the Glenmore plant, the Glenmore reservoir, our treated water storage and our pipes, leaving us unable to handle sudden increases in demand,” she said.

“It also means we are unable to perform anything beyond basic maintenance, such as backwashing or replacing pumps. This situation puts our system at a greater risk than we would like. We can manage in the short period. But the longer we are in the red, the worse it gets.”

She challenged Calgarians to reduce water use by 30 litres a day until the Bearspaw feeder main is back in service. Chief Henry visualized that feat by holding up a standard water jug, which holds 20 litres.

“When you look at it in this perspective, this is not a lot of water,” she said.

“We can do this by flushing toilets only when you need to. Just flushing the toilet three less times in a day will save the 30 liters right there.”

With repairs nearing completion, there was still no timeline for when water conservation measures, including Stage 4 water restrictions, would end.

Further, there was no specific timeline for road repaving and reopening of 16 Avenue to be completed.

GM Thompson did say, however, that further repair work on the Bearspaw feeder main should be expected in the coming days and weeks if there is another break. Otherwise, the line will be shut down in the spring to complete urgent repairs.