Two Calgary city councillors say the city needs to shore up its own water use issues before making it mandatory for citizens to follow a summer watering schedule.

As a result, potential amendments are expected to come forward when the city’s water efficiency plan comes to a regular meeting of Calgary city council on April 28.

The goal of the plan is to help reduce the per capita water demand by 20 per cent by 2040, from 315 litres per capita per day (LPCD) to 285. To do it, the City of Calgary is proposing 11 actions over a range of water-related areas.

After the plan was approved at committee on April 1, some councillors have raised concerns about the impact on Calgary water users. In particular, the move to a mandatory outdoor watering schedule.  It would see odd-numbered Calgary addresses allowed to water on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and even numbers on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. It’s the sort of plan seen in dozens of cities across North America.

But it doesn’t sit well with Ward 6 Coun. John Pantazopoulos, who said that Calgary needs to focus on fixing its own water use before it starts demanding it of citizens. He called it “overreaching” and wants to see that amended to be a voluntary schedule.

“When we make it important, (Calgarians) belly up to the bar. They step up and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to do it,’” he told LWC.

“I think having that mandatory, for all the reasons that other councillors brought up, I think it’s a bit of a stretch. Let’s start with the voluntary.”

Pantazopoulos said that Calgary needs to focus on the 21 per cent water loss of its own, due to leaky pipes, before it starts imposing on Calgarians.

“Before we cast the first stone, the city is losing 20 plus percent of the water. That’s 100 million liters a day. So, you know what? Let’s really focus on that,” he said.

Accelerated water loss program

There are 99 pages of responses to a question on water scheduling in the What We Heard verbatim report. While the question didn’t ask if people liked it or didn’t (just if they found the rules easy to understand), a sentiment scan was done on those responses that provided more than a simple yes or no, with a largely even split in responses both for and against the scheduling. (Between 40-45 per cent each side)

A good portion of people (~ 2 in 10) were neutral on it and instead offered ways to adjust the schedule.

“Calgarians will NOT accept any restrictions or “water schedule” from the city of calgary. [sic],” reads one response.

“You’ve already seen that city council has delayed this concept as they know citizens are fully against it.”

Others were in favour.

“I grew up in a city with watering restrictions and I think this would put Calgary more in line with many other cities,” one responder wrote.

Ward 12 Coun. Mike Jamieson said he’d also be looking at amendments to the water efficiency plan. While he agrees with a voluntary approach to the water schedules and believes the City should take care of its infrastructure leakage first, he also says shutting off people’s water for non-compliance is a no-go.

“I think the only rational authority that they should have is in line with other utilities,” he said.

If people failed to pay their water bill, it could be shut off, like it could be for gas or power, Jamieson said.  

He’d also like to see the fines removed if people don’t follow the watering schedule.

Jamieson also disagreed with the “conservation-oriented rate structure,” or what he referred to as “tiered pricing.”

“I think every Calgarian should pay the same rate. If you use more, you pay for more, but the rate should be the same,” he said.

Action 1 on the water efficiency plan is to deal with the leaking pipes in the system. Attached to the plan is a proposed capital and operations spend of up to $420 million over 2027 to 2030 to deal with these issues.

The City also plans to expand conservation and water efficiency programs for citizens, along with business and industrial users.

“Access to safe, reliable drinking water is essential to public health and quality of life,” reads the city admin report.

“Advancing water efficiency supports reliable service delivery, reduces vulnerability to water shortages, and supports long-term city building in a drought prone region.”