Water main replacement on track, city says; new department, oversight board also coming along

Water billowed up from under the road in northwest Calgary on Dec. 30, 2025, only a few blocks away from where a catastrophic feeder-main break occurred in summer 2024. (Courtesy Janice Rendflesh)

Work to protect Calgary from further water woes continues — some of it visible and some of it not, the city says.

An update on the work was given to the city’s executive committee on Tuesday.

“The work is complex, but the goal is simple — a water system Calgarians can rely on for generations to come,” said water transformation program director Heather Johnson in a news release sharing details of the presentation.

Committee members heard the construction of the Bearspaw Feeder Main replacement project “remains on track for the pipe to be in service by the end of 2026.”

Meanwhile, work on a new, integrated water utility department also continues.

According to the city, “interviews for the (chief operating officer) were completed in May.”

The city also says it “expects to have an offer finalized by the end of June.”

A chairperson for a new water utility oversight board is also being recruited, the city says, and an executive forum is in place in the meantime.

“Calgarians expect us to get this right,” Johnson said.

“This is not about celebrating. It’s about being transparent about what’s underway, what’s changing and what still needs to be done.”

The water main break in northwest Calgary in the summer of 2024 prompted a local state of emergency.

Water use restrictions were put in place.

The city carried out 29 repairs along the Bearspaw line, with the work completed by November 2024.

After the second break on the night of Dec. 30, 2025, the emergency operations centre doors opened again.

And water use restrictions were put in place again.

This time, repairs took weeks, not months, though additional work to maintain and ultimately replace the line is ongoing.