7 water main breaks in a single day keep Calgary crews busy

January is typically the busiest month for water main breaks in Calgary, but this week more than usual have occurred.

On Thursday, the city's website showed 12 broken water mains, seven of which ruptured Wednesday.

"That's abnormal," said Lee Dupras, leader of repair and maintenance for drinking water distribution at the City of Calgary. "I have not seen that many in one day come in since I've been in this [department] of the city."

Spread across Calgary, 205 homes and businesses have been affected, according to the city website.

All are considered emergency repairs, and the city is working to get the water flowing again before Friday morning, but it could be as late as Sunday in some cases.

Dupras says there doesn't appear to be a problem with the system because the 12 breaks are spread across the city.

"If we're seeing a rash of water main breaks in one area, then that's an indication that there's potentially something else wrong with the system that we have to investigate," he said.

The city is repairing all but one of the breaks — a contractor is fixing a break affecting a business in the Forest Lawn area.

Dupras says most breaks in Calgary are due to aging infrastructure and corrosion.

While weather may play a role, it is more often water pressure changes, the type and age of the pipe, as well as the type of soil, he added.

If a resident sees water coming up, water pooling or water running down the street, Dupras says they should call 311 immediately.