Calgary lifts water restrictions as services restored

Calgary is no longer under water restrictions, and the emergency has been declared over. Still, Calgarians should hold back from opening the floodgates.

The City of Calgary says water restrictions put into place following the failure of the Bearspaw South feeder main on Dec. 30, 2025, are now over.

Officials made the announcement on Friday, after the final pump at the water treatment centre was turned on.

They say the system is handling the flow of water and residents no longer need to save water.

“Thank you,” Mayor Jeromy Farkas said Friday. “Thank you for saving water. Thank you for adjusting your routines. Thank you for your patience because we know that this has been incredibly disruptive and frustrating.”

On Dec. 30, 2025, the Bearspaw South feeder main ruptured, forcing Calgarians and thousands of residents of other communities to adopt conservation measures as crews worked to fix the pipe.

The repairs were completed last week and crews have since been slowly filling up the pipe with water from the Bearspaw water treatment plant while also working with Alberta Health Services to make sure the water is safe to use.

On Friday, officials confirmed that that was the case.

“All has gone well with bringing this pipe back to service,” said Michael Thompson, Calgary’s general manager of infrastructure.

“As of right now, the pipe appears stable. The final pump was activated this morning and we can finally rely on water from the Bearspaw plant to support the community.

“Please know the water is safe to drink.”

With water services restored, the immediate emergency related to the broken pipe is over and officials say Calgary will close its emergency management centre.

“Although we are winding down our emergency operations, I assure you the pipe will continue to be closely monitored and, should we experience another break, we are ready to respond quickly and efficiently,” said Calgary Emergency Management Agency chief Sue Henry.

Restoration ‘a milestone’

Farkas say though the battle has been won, the war is far from over and he and his council have pledged to fix the entire pipe to get out from under the shadow of future failures.

“We need to do what would normally take four years in one year,” he said, referring to the task of building a twin pipe to take the burden off the original feeder main.

“Tomorrow, it is straight back to work. This repair has simply bought Calgary time, but we are now in a race against the clock.”

Thompson says a construction company has already been selected, materials have been ordered and crews are being mobilized to complete the project.

There is no immediate cost estimate on the repair work so far.