Calgary mayor says water restrictions could be lifted in 10 days

City of Calgary officials now say the repair work on the city's most critical water main is expected to be complete by the weekend, meaning water restrictions could be lifted sooner than expected.

"This new construction timeline means that you will only need to keep conserving water for about 10 more days," said Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek during a Thursday afternoon news conference. 

"We can actually see the finish line now."

Gondek said rainy conditions could impact the backfilling and paving process, but the city is hoping to lift Stage 4 outdoor water restrictions — the most restrictive level — on Sept. 22, should work go according to plan in the coming 10 days.

She noted the 10-day timeframe is the amount of time it will require to complete repairs, backfill excavation sites and refill the pipe with water. 

Work has been completed along 20 of the 21 segments of the Bearspaw south feeder main in need of repair as of Thursday. 

Calgary's general manager of infrastructure services, Michael Thompson, says the city will be expanding its water infrastructure inspections to mitigate future issues. 

"We've increased our inspection, looking for leaks across the city. Typically, we were doing 200 kilometres a year. This year, we will inspect over 1,000 kilometres," he said.

That's approximately one-fifth of the city's water infrastructure, Thompson noted.

The city expects to begin refilling the Bearspaw south feeder main with water on Monday, a process that will take roughly three days. 

"This is a little longer than last time because we have a longer section of pipe to fill," said Thompson.

Water quality tests will be ongoing while the feeder main is being filled. This time, however, officials say the pipe will not need to be flushed to remove any potential contaminants as no rupture occurred and maintenance was planned.

"If all goes according to plan, this will mean we can return to normal water use and lift all outdoor water restrictions over the weekend of Saturday, Sept. 21, and Sunday, Sept. 22."

Water conservation still required

Calgary has been coping with various levels of outdoor water restrictions since June 5, when the city's most crucial water main had a catastrophic failure. 

Outdoor water restrictions tightened back up to Stage 4 on Aug. 26 after additional urgently needed repairs along the feeder main were identified.

Residents of Calgary and the surrounding communities that rely on its water supply — such as Airdrie, Strathmore, Chestermere and Tsuut'ina Nation — are still expected to reduce indoor water consumption until the feeder main is officially back in service. 

The city says water demand needs to stay under 485 million litres per day in order to remain sustainable while the major pipe is being repaired.

Calgarians used 484 million litres of water on Wednesday, marking the second consecutive day of sustainable water use levels, but up from Tuesday's 481 million-litre demand. 

As for road closures, Thompson said 16th Avenue N.W. in Montgomery is expected to reopen on Monday, though some lanes will remain closed.

Sections of 33rd Avenue west of 86th Street N.W. are also set to reopen next week.