The show must go on!
138,000 out-of-town guests are expected at this year’s Stampede. The City of Calgary said if we all flushed one less time per day we would save 12 million litres of water. Stampede officials say they have water use on the Stampede grounds under control, but nobody is talking about all the extra showers, flushing and drinking off the grounds.
Has heavy traffic affected water pipes?
I have three thoughts on the current water pipe failure:
Drinking water for about 1.8 million is entirely dependent on a 50-year-old pipe that is operating at more than twice the normal rate of flow. Installing temporary support piping regardless of cost should be immediately implemented.
It appears the majority of failures occurred under or near 16th Avenue. This is a major roadway which accommodates heavy volumes of traffic, including heavy transport trucks. What impact have vibrations from this traffic and from years of salting the roadways had on the buried concrete water pipes? We’ve seen what it does to bridges. This should be evaluated.
The current situation demonstrates the importance of mitigating risk. Having several smaller lines, or a second large one would reduce the impact of a failure.
Greg Hollingsworth, Strathmore
Are businesses doing their part?
My wife and I are down to two short showers per week. Our toilets get flushed once per day. We wash dishes by hand and then use the water in the garden.
Malls, gyms and restaurants still have toilets and urinals set to automatic flush which wastes tons of water. If it is a health guideline issue, use the State of Emergency to modify it.
Perhaps the only way to effect change is for the City to charge businesses four times the normal rate for supply and wastewater if they are going to operate as if it’s business as usual.
Also, why are restaurants still serving water by the litre in a State of Emergency? Why not a glass or sell bottles with a $1 or $2 markup?
If this is as big a problem as we’re being told, why are residents the only people responding in an urgent fashion?
Graham Dobson, Calgary
Respect for upholding the law
Re: ‘Disconnected from the facts’: Former Alberta justice minister tells law society tribunal he was unfairly ticketed, June 19