Calgary water restrictions could end later this week, should all go well with the reintroduction of the Bearspaw South feeder main to active service.

City officials provided an update on work to bring Calgary’s water system back to nearly full capacity during a media briefing on Wednesday, January 14, 2026.

City of Calgary Infrastructure Services GM Michael Thompson said that lab tests have confirmed Calgary’s Bearspaw water is safe to drink. That meant they could move forward with the next phase of bringing the Bearspaw feeder main back into service.

“Last night (Tuesday), we began the process to gradually reconnect the feeder main to the larger water distribution network,” he said.

“This morning, we turned on our first set of pumps, beginning the gradual introduction of the flow of water into the pipe. The system will require 24 hours to stabilize before advancing to the next phase.”

Thompson said that tomorrow morning (Thursday) they would turn on additional pumps to further increase the flow through the pipe. It will take 24 hours to stabilize and then the final pump will be turned on to return the pipe to service.

“As I have mentioned before, returning the Bearspaw South feeder main to service is a delicate process. We can’t guarantee there won’t be another break during this time, so we are proceeding very carefully and gradually to return this pipe into service safely,” Thompson said.

“If everything remains stable, we could lift restrictions by the end of the week, as we start flowing water through this pipe.”

Thompson said once it returns to service citizens may notice the water is cloudier than normal, or it may have more of a chlorine smell for a short period of time. He said it would resolve itself over time.

Not out of the woods: CEMA Chief Henry

While there’s positive news on the repair, Calgary Emergency Management Agency Chief Sue Henry said that it’s important to continue conserving water until the feeder main is brought back online.

“As we get closer to having the Bearspaw feeder main into service, every liter of water counts,” she said.  

“We want to keep the level of the Glenmore Reservoir as high as possible to ensure we have enough water to last until spring runoff begins.”

Right now, Calgary’s main water source is the Glenmore Reservoir (fed by the Elbow River) via the Glenmore water treatment plant. GM Thompson said that thus far Calgary has been using three times more water than normal from the reservoir. That’s why they want the conservation to continue.

Chief Henry also said that both eastbound lanes of 16 Avenue NW have returned to service early Wednesday, while westbound 16 Avenue NW will reopen in phases. One lane is currently open, but curb and turn lanes need a bit more time for the road base to stabilize, Henry said.

Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said that today was a significant step forward in the process to return the feeder main into service.

“It tells us the repair is holding, the system is responding as expected, and the work is progressing safely,” he said.

“We know that this whole pipe is still sick, and we know we are still in uncharted territory, so we can’t breathe easy until the new pipe is in the ground and online. But we are almost at the end of this chapter, and we can look forward to what is next.”

Meanwhile, as the pipe was filled, Thompson said that two new wire snaps were heard. That, in itself, isn’t enough to warrant concern, Thompson said, but they have begun tracking each four-metre segment of pipe and monitoring for several different conditions.

“It’s not just about wire snaps. That’s one of the things we’ve been learning,” he said.

“There’s a number of conditions that we’re looking at and measuring as it goes forward.”

Thompson said that they are currently running 200 million litres a day through the pipe. That will be upped to 225 million before stabilizing the system again and eventually topping out at 285 million litres per day, Thompson said. According to the City of Calgary FAQ website, the Bearspaw South feeder main has the capacity to push 400 million litres per day.

Thompson didn’t immediately have the volume it was pushing when the Dec. 30 break happened.