Calgary is at risk of missing its 2026 inspection targets for drinking water distribution mains and stormwater pipes, according to an update going before a city committee Wednesday. The city says it has inspected 117 of the 400 kilometres of drinking water distribution mains targeted this year, about 29 per cent of its annual goal. For stormwater pipes, one kilometre has been inspected against a 16-kilometre target, which is 6.25 per cent. Both targets are marked “at risk” in a presentation prepared for the infrastructure and planning committee’s Oct. 14 meeting. The percentages reflect progress toward this year’s inspection targets, rather than the proportion of Calgary’s entire pipe network inspected. The “at risk” designation concerns meeting those targets, not a finding that the pipes themselves are unsafe. Other inspections on track Most of the other work listed remains on track. Across the presentation’s drinking water, wastewater and stormwater inspection and assessment tables, the other 17 items are all marked on target. The city reports completing inspections of all 34 major transmission valves targeted this year, along with four targeted pump stations and two targeted treated-water reservoirs. Inspections of major drinking water transmission mains are 61 per cent complete against a 14.7-kilometre annual target and remain rated on target. The update follows a call from the Bearspaw South feeder main implementation advisory group, formerly the independent review panel, for a public accounting of the city’s progress. In its June 30 closeout letter, the group identified the absence of current, actionable asset management plans as one of the most direct causes of the feeder main failure. It asked the city to identify which infrastructure had management plans, which inspections had been completed since its final report, and when plans for remaining high-consequence infrastructure would be finished. Operational and resource limits The accompanying report says drinking water risk-reduction work is partly constrained by the need to maintain water supply to customers during assessment and repairs. The time required to deliver new infrastructure is another limitation. For stormwater, administration says resource constraints are affecting inspections and other work. The documents do not fully explain why the two specific inspection targets are at risk or how much of that work the city expects to complete by year’s end. Administration says near-term funding is adequate to continue planned work, but further assessments are expected to identify additional funding needs. The infrastructure and planning committee’s meeting will start at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. Administration recommends the committee ask council to receive the report for the corporate record.
