Calgarians continue to cut water use as repairs near completion

Calgary water use (file)

Calgarians kept their water use in the green zone Wednesday for the second day in a row as repairs near completion on the Bearspaw South feeder main.

The city posted on its website that water use was 483 million litres Wednesday, the lowest one-day water use of the week and well under the 500 million litre threshold level set by the city.

“By keeping our water demand below 500 million litres of water, we stay in the green zone,“ the city posted. ”This means demand can be met by the drinking water system during the reinforcement work.”

Water use Tuesday was 490 million litres, with 506 million litres were used Monday.

Stage 4 outdoor water restrictions remain in effect, meaning no outdoor water use is permitted at this time.

Repairs nearly complete

The city said Thursday that repair work on the Bearspaw South feeder main is nearly complete, with refilling set to begin Friday.

It will take two to three days to gently pump 22 million litres of water into the pipe.

City administration said water usage crept over the threshold a couple of days this week, but that could be because of a leaky valve found at the Shaganappi Pump Station.

That has now been repaired, and another update from the city will come Monday after the water is tested and everything appears ready.

But restrictions are not being lifted yet, as the pipe is still very vulnerable.

“It’s not just the sections that we did the reinforcement work on,” said Michael Thompson, Calgary’s general manager of infrastructure services. “Those sections actually are the ones that we’re the most confident in now.

“It’s the remainder of the pipe that we know has issues and that we have to live with until we have that replacement pipe constructed and operational in December of this year,” Thompson added.

Repaving in the area will start soon, and lane closures will remain in effect.

Next week, the city will let residents know what might happen if there is another break.