Water use in Calgary was below the city’s target on Wednesday as another round of water restrictions began. Stage 4 water restrictions are in place as work to fix the beleaguered Bearspaw South feeder main continues. The city says water demand needs to stay below 500 million litres per day to continue providing reliable water service, maintain enough water for fighting fires and keep the water system working well. On Wednesday, water use was at 490 million litres — in the “green zone” and down 24 million litres from the previous day. Restrictions to last a month Crews are working to connect the new Bearspaw South feeder main to the city’s existing water system — one of the final steps before the new pipe is finished. The work — and subsequent water restrictions — are expected to last about four weeks. It means no outdoor water use is permitted, including the flooding of outdoor rinks. Residents and businesses are also urged to reduce their indoor water use. Three ways citizens are advised to take to reduce their water usage include: Calgarians aren’t the only ones being asked to reduce their water use — the plea applies to those in Airdrie, Chestermere, Strathmore and Tsuut’ina Nation. Grey Cup won’t be affected The water restrictions will be in place when Calgary hosts the Grey Cup on Nov. 15 — and the Cenovus Energy 2026 Grey Cup Festival from Nov. 11 to 15 — but the city has known that would be the case for some time. “Our message is that Calgary is open,” said Michael Thompson, the City of Calgary’s acting chief operating officer of water utility, at a Monday news conference. “We’re ready to welcome visitors to Calgary, and the Grey Cup Organizing Committee has shared those same simple messages that we shared with Calgarians — to reduce your flushes and only flush when required, take shorter showers and only run your laundry and dishwasher when they’re full. “We’ve shared these messages with Grey Cup organizers, they’re sharing them with their vendors and folks coming to Calgary, and we’re ready to welcome folks to Calgary for a great Grey Cup.”
