Calgary crews working to finalize water main repair locations

Extended: Calgary water update, Tuesday, Aug. 13, City officials provide an update on Calgary's water situation on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024.

The City of Calgary is preparing for repairs on the Bearspaw feeder main scheduled to start later this month.

The city will make urgent repairs to the water main after analysis by a pipe-diver device revealed 16 new sites that need to be fixed.

More detailed information about areas in Bowness and Montgomery expected to be affected by construction is scheduled to be released on Thursday, as crews are still in the process of finalizing repair site locations.

“Crews will be on site this Thursday to mark out exactly where the feeder main is located, and additional utilities. This will take a couple of days,” Michael Thompson, the City of Calgary’s general manager of infrastructure services, said Tuesday.

“Crews from Alberta One-Call will also be in these areas to identify underground infrastructure by painting lines and placing small flags in the ground where infrastructure is located.”

Major construction will begin on Aug. 28 and will continue 24-7 until completion, the city says.

Calgarians will see Stage 4 outdoor water restrictions return from Aug. 26 until approximately Sept. 23.

Until then, the city remains under Stage 1 restrictions.

Residents are encouraged to prepare their gardens and plants for the return to stricter outdoor water-use restrictions, while still following the current watering rules under Stage 1.

“You can continue to water gardens, trees and shrubs with a hose attached to a trigger spray, or use a drip irrigation system with an automatic shut off,” Rehana Rajabali, the city’s leader of environmental planning and policy, said.

“You can also use this time to ensure that the soil surrounding your tree has a deep watering, in addition to the tree itself. Adding in a layer of mulch will also help limit water loss through evaporation.”

Sprinklers and in-ground sprinkling systems can continue to be used until Aug. 26, following the Stage 1 sprinkler watering schedule.

Residents are also encouraged to get rain barrels prepared ahead of time, so they are full and ready to be used for outdoor watering before new restrictions kick in.

Indoors, Calgarians can work to get caught up on their laundry over the next couple of weeks.

The feeder main initially broke on June 5, leading to weeks of indoor water-use reduction measures and outdoor water restrictions. Repairs, including work on five hot spots along the feeder main, were completed on June 25.

Water restrictions remained in place as crews worked to stabilize the infrastructure and bring the pipe back up to full capacity.