We want to thank all Calgarians, both residents and businesses, for working together to save around 100 million litres of water each day. We don’t have much time left until the repairs are complete, so please continue your efforts to reduce water—every drop counts.
Mondays are typically a high use water day as we return from the weekend, and we are asking Calgarians to take small actions like holding off on laundry that can wait, flushing only when necessary and not using potable, City water for outdoor watering.
We are also continuing discussions with our commercial and industrial customers to ensure they are taking steps to reduce their water usage, where possible.
Water use
Yesterday’s water use was 509 million litres, up from 496 million litres from the day before. This puts us in an unsustainable zone, where we run the risk of not being able to keep up with demand or take the pumps offline for maintenance as we are pushing the system hard.
Bylaw and enforcement
To date, we have received 1,413 Bylaw complaints involving residential customers, 275 for commercial and 126 for multi-family residences. We have issued a total of 29 violation tickets each with a $3,000 fine. Of these, 23 were for residential customers, four for commercial customers and two for multi-family residences.
Calgarians who are seeing outdoor water misuse can continue to provide information related to these instances through the “Calgary 3-1-1” app or calgary.ca/311. Our bylaw officers are actively following up.
Construction update
Our construction is continuing to progress well, and we remain on schedule.
There are five steps to complete the construction work:
- Excavation
- Installing rebar and encasing the pipe in concrete
- Curing the concrete
- Concrete form removal
- Backfilling and paving
After backfilling and paving, the system will require flushing, water quality testing and stabilizing to restore water service.
We have now completed repairs on 14 of the 21 pipe segments. We are making progress on the seven remaining repairs. At five of the remaining sites, we are installing rebar and getting ready for additional concrete pours. At the other two sites, we are finishing the excavation process. We have confirmed that the method of using concrete encasements will work for all repairs.
At Sites 1-4 along 33 Avenue N.W., we are backfilling and paving, which is the last step in construction work. Work is also progressing well on Site 5, which is the final site on 33 Avenue N.W.
At Sites 6 to 8 on 16 Avenue N.W., excavation is complete at five of the six segments and rebar installation is underway.
While repairs are ongoing, we are taking this time to do proactive maintenance. We are replacing one of the large isolation valves (pictured below), which lets us shut off certain sections of the feeder main when needed.
We are also working on cross-tie valves (pictured below), which control the connection between the feeder main and the distribution system. Opening the cross-tie valves allow us to supply water to the communities connected to the feeder main.
This important maintenance work will not impact the overall construction timelines.
Road closures and detours
As we continue our repair work, we ask that Calgarians be mindful of their speed to ensure the safety of the public and the workers on site. As a reminder, 16 Avenue N.W. is closed from 46 Street to 41 Street, with traffic being detoured onto Bowness Road. Bowness Road is fully open in both directions with direct access to 16 Avenue N.W. and businesses.
We encourage Calgarians to support local during this time and want you to know that Bowness and Montgomery are open for business.
Our teams are working hard to complete this important work as quickly and safely as possible. Your cooperation during this time is crucial to help us get through these repairs and ensure we have a reliable water system for everyone. For the latest updates, water saving tips and to sign up to receive email updates about construction, visit calgary.ca/savewater.
