23% of Calgary’s treated water lost to system leaks last year: Report

A stock photo showing the Calgary Tower. (Unsplash/Justin Hu)

A new report shows Calgary lost almost a quarter of its treated water last year to system leaks.

Twenty-three per cent of all water in 2025 was wasted in the city’s aging infrastructure before it could reach customers.

And the year wasn’t an outlier.

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“Calgary, between 2020 and 2025, has experienced a leakage rate between 20 and 24 per cent,” said Ryan Kidd, Calgary Water Services’ deputy director, on Tuesday. “[The city] has a large, complex distribution system, and finding leaks can be challenging.”

The waste can happen due to aging or broken joints and valves, ruptured service lines and water main breaks – and Calgary’s soil is largely gravelly and porous, so many of the leaks don’t come to surface, which makes identification and response slower.

The report has sparked calls for change — and a hefty investment — at City Hall.

Council has proposed spending roughly $342 million over the next three-and-a-half years to cut the leakage down to 15 per cent.

Kidd calls the target “a starting point” that could improve capacity as the city grows.

It would go toward replacing water mains, and on adding more meters and monitors to determine exactly where the leaks are occurring.

The Canadian treated water waste average is about 17 per cent.

Edmonton has the lowest amount in the country — thanks in large part to its clay ground — with only five per cent loss last year.