The need to keep conserving water means summer activities may need to be tweaked, said Mayor Jyoti Gondek
Summer has officially arrived, but Calgarians won’t be allowed to break out their slip ‘n slides or sprinkler systems just yet.
With temperatures forecasted to climb into the 20s in the coming week, city officials are continuing to stress the need for outdoor water restrictions and indoor conservation efforts amid ongoing repairs to the Bearspaw south feeder main.
Until then, the need to keep conserving water means summer activities may need to be tweaked, according to Gondek. She suggested alternative ways of beating the heat in the coming week such as going to a movie theatre, visiting an air-conditioned mall or hanging out in the basement.
“It means the slip ‘n slide will have to take a rain check and the sprinkler party is going to have to have a rethink,” she said. “If you’re thinking of having friends around the fire pit, please don’t turn it on. You can sit around the firepit, but there are no fires right now while we’re under a fire ban.
“Whatever your weekend plans are, I know you’re keeping water savings at top of mind.”
Calgary’s water use totaled 454 million litres on Wednesday. It’s an uptick from Tuesday’s 445 million litres, but still below the 480-million litre threshold the city has suggested is required for the two water treatment plants to replenish reservoirs.
Cumulative water use has remained below that threshold for five straight days, Gondek noted. The day before, she said Calgarians’ conservation efforts since the crisis began June 5 have saved the equivalent of more than 600 Olympic pools’ worth of water.
The city’s typical use at this time of year hovers above 620 million litres a day.
“Your everyday decisions like turning off the taps when brushing your teeth or holding off on flushing the toilet, all of those things are making sure firefighters and hospitals have access to emergency water supply if it’s needed,” she said.
Crews respond to Bulk Barn blaze
On the topic of firefighters, Calgary Fire Department (CFD) crews used approximately 20,000 litres of water on Thursday morning to extinguish a blaze at a Bulk Barn on the east side of Macleod Trail.
Carol Henke, spokesperson for the CFD, said the fire occurred shortly before 6:20 a.m. Calls to 911 reported dark smoke coming from the businesses on the west end of a strip mall in the 9200 block of Macleod Trail, just south of 90th Avenue S.E.
“We did bring a tender and multiple engines,” she said. “We requested extra resources for the call so we had a back-up redundancy in place should water from the hydrants be an issue. It was not, and fire crews had no concerns with water pressure or water supply and were able to fight the fire as normal.”
One hot spot being reinforced, rather than replaced
At the Thursday afternoon press conference, the city’s general manager of infrastructure services, Michael Thompson, said that exposing one of the five “hot spots” on the water main revealed the pipe was encased in a large concrete “thrust block” at one location. He said this created a problem, as removing it would risk damaging the adjacent pipe.
Instead of cutting out the damaged section of the pipe (the second hot spot from the north), Thompson said workers are instead going to structurally reinforce it with rebar and concrete.
“That will give us strength to hold that pipe in place,” he said.
Coby Duerr, the deputy chief of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, said the higher temperatures underscore the need for continued vigilance in rationing water.
“We know temperature is one of the key factors in water use in the city of Calgary,” he said. “With the restrictions we have for outdoor water use, that does level the playing field a little bit and allows us to maintain the level we have right now.
“Citizens that are doing the great work they’re doing right now is exactly what we need to continue to do.”
Hot weather worrisome for gardeners
The forecast is worrisome for Brad Hitchings, the store manager of Greengate Garden Centres. He said the upcoming hot weather doesn’t bode well for Calgary’s plants and gardens that have already been damaged by a lack of watering in recent weeks.
Hitchings said a lot of the recent damage he has noticed to local plants was caused by aphids that are attacking the trees and shrubs that have been weakened by a lack of water.
“When a plant is weak, it gives off pheromones that attract disease and insects,” he said.
“The leaves are all drying up, curling up and that’s because the plants are weaker. If the plant is watered, healthy, strong (and fertilized), it doesn’t mean you can’t get bugs, but you’re a lot less likely to.”
While Calgary’s wet May and June helped give plants a vital drink, Hitchings said the rainy conditions also led to a growth in local insect populations, which he noted are now “thriving” and ready to cause havoc on local plants and gardens.
