Calgary’s water use inched up on Sunday, tipping into the red zone, but there’s a reason

Calgary's water use was up on Sunday, March 22, 2026, heading above the threshold of 500 million litres for the first time in three days.

Calgary’s water use climbed to 504 million litres on March 22, breaking a three-day streak of sustainable levels, but the city says it’s partly due to water-main work.

The city says five million litres of water was used to refill a section of the Bearspaw South feeder main, which means residents only used 499 million litres.

Nevertheless, it’s the second straight Sunday where usage was above the threshold of 500 million litres per day.

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Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas says the day’s jump over the threshold was “a tiny blip” and repairs to the Bearspaw South feeder main are almost two-thirds complete.

“We are well on track to get out of this in the next week and a half or so and make no mistake, we are moving faster than anything we have ever done before,” he told CTV Your Morning Calgary on Monday.

Restrictions are expected to remain in place until early April, when city crews are finished with reinforcement work in multiple areas of the feeder main.

The feeder main is being reinforced so it can last until a new line is completed to take over.

At a news conference later on Monday, Farkas called this “a temporary inconvenience so we can deliver a permanent solution.”

It’s asked people “flush toilets only when needed, keep showers to three minutes or less and run dishwashers and washing machines only with full loads.”

Michael Thompson, general manager of infrastructure services for the city, said Calgarians’ efforts are why there was enough water in reserve to deal with a couple of larger, water-draining emergencies, including a Monday morning fire.

“Because of the actions you took last week, we had enough (water) available in the underground storage tanks,” Thompson said at Monday afternoon’s news conference.

“But it’s a reminder of why it’s so important to keep up our every-day water saving.”