With repairs now complete, flushing and water testing for Calgary’s damaged water main are on track to be completed ahead of July 5, in time for the Calgary Stampede.
In the meantime, the city is supplying non-potable water to residents at seven locations throughout the city.
Here is everything you need to know today as the city continues to deal with a water crisis:
What you need to know about Calgary’s water emergency
- Canada Day fireworks will proceed, with safety plans in place.
- Mayor Gondek said 471 million liters of water was used on Tuesday, which is at 98 per cent of the city’s threshold.
- Filling and flushing the feeder main is set to begin Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.
- The city has opened seven sites where construction companies and residents can gather free, non-potable water from the Bow River.
- Councillors are raising questions about the cost of the ongoing water crisis.
- The city issued a local state of emergency at 8 a.m. on Saturday, June 15.
- The city identified five additional issues with the pipe which have been repaired as of Tuesday, June 25.
- Stampede will go ahead.
- Calgary is operating under Stage 4 water restrictions, meaning all outdoor water use is banned.
- Commercial and industrial water users have also been asked to cut back, with Gondek asking businesses to consider allowing employees to work from home to “save them the time of having a shower in the morning.”
WATCH: City of Calgary morning update – June 27th
Water service could be restored by Canada Day as city begins work of adding water to ruptured feeder main
Water service could be restored as early as Monday with restrictions easing soon after, city officials announced Wednesday.
Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the process of refilling the repaired feeder main will begin Wednesday night, followed by the flushing of any debris, the testing of treated water and the stabilization of the pipe.
“These next few days are going to be critical to making sure that we provide you with updates about what we’re observing as the water begins to flow,” Gondek said at a news conference.
The mayor noted that the timeline could be stretched further if the city encounters any problems during these stages.
Workers will soon start paving the road on 16th Avenue N.W. — which had been dug to repair the feeder main — after backfilling the pipe, which is crucial to “securing it before we can reintroduce water and begin the re-pressurization process,” city general manager Michael Thompson said at the conference.
WATCH: City of Calgary afternoon update – June 26th
Mayor Jyoti Gondek shared that filling the pipes will begin Wednesday evening, allowing flushing and testing to begin Friday. This provides an estimated date for service restoration of July 1.
If water service is stable by July 1, indoor restrictions will be eased, said Gondek. She warned that this is a tentative timeline, and water consumption reduction is still necessary. She said that there has been a concerning rise in water use over the last few days.
Beginning Thursday night, the north parking lot at Edworthy Park will be closed until further notice to facilitate flushing of the feeder main. Parts of the pathway in Edworthy Park near Angel’s Cafe and the north parking lot will also be closed.
CEMA Chief Sue Henry said that during flushing, while the river will remain safe for floating and boating, officials are asking people to stay clear of the north shoreline of Edworthy Park over the weekend as a safety precaution.
Henry provided an update on Canada Day festivities, saying fireworks for the holiday will proceed. Safety plans are in place to ensure that scheduled events can go as planned without jeopardizing the city’s water supply.
While outdoor water restrictions remain in place, the city is supplying non-potable water to residents at seven locations throughout the city including Ogden boat launch, Baker Park, Spy Hill Landfill, Genesis Centre, Ambrose University, Bishop O’Byrne High School and Bankside Day Use area in Fish Creek Park.
The residential-use locations are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and people are asked to bring their own containers. Residents are limited to 100 liters per household.
Commercial-use locations are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 645,000 litres of water have been pulled from the non-potable water sites for use.
The city’s 311 line has taken 9,765 calls related to the water event. Seventeen tickets have been issued for water misuse, and six tickets have been issued in relation to the fire ban, according to Henry.
WATCH: City of Calgary morning update – June 26th
Wednesday morning Gondek said 471 million liters of water was used on Tuesday, which is at 98 per cent of the city’s threshold.
The city is also proposing a budget measure to secure the safety of the water infrastructure in the city over the next two years to make sure proper testing will be in place.
The backfilling in the hotspot areas started Tuesday night and paving will begin Wednesday. This will help traffic flow better and make businesses in the Montgomery area more accessible.
35% of Quebec City residents under strict restrictions after major water main break
Some Quebec City residents will have to restrict their water consumption for at least 10 days as crews scramble to repair a major water supply pipe break.
On June 21, the city announced that a major drinking water supply pipe had broken near Rue de Chamerolles in the Les Rivières borough. Mayor Bruno Marchand told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday that about 35 per cent of Quebec residents must conserve water while crew workers pinpoint the source of the break.
Repair work is expected to start Wednesday at 7 a.m. in the Les Rivières borough and last until July 5.
Mayor hints at faster fix of ruptured feeder main, but ‘concerned’ as water use continues to climb
The five “hot spots” in the ruptured water feeder main have been fixed, city officials announced Tuesday, as Calgary heads into the critical stage of filling the pipe with treated water and ensuring it is safe to drink.
“To be clear, the repair work is done,” Mayor Jyoti Gondek said in a news conference — however, Calgary is still not in the clear.
While the city overcomes a major hurdle by mending the damage to its main pipe that carries drinking water to the rest of the city, the challenge it now faces is to bring the feeder main back into use through four stages: filling, flushing, testing and stabilizing.
Using a hockey reference, Gondek said: “We need to play the full 60 minutes, and right now we’re in the last five minutes of Game 7.”
WATCH: City of Calgary afternoon update – June 25th
As of Tuesday, repair work on all damaged portions of the pipe is complete. Crews have begun the process of backfilling work areas and will soon transition to site cleanup. Officials expect backfilling to be completed by Wednesday.
City officials will work with AHS on a four step process which includes filling the feeder main, flushing the water, testing the water and stabilizing the system. Filling the feeder main may begin Wednesday night or Thursday morning.
Francois Bouchart, City of Calgary director of capital priorities and investment, warns that the increased pressure from filling the water main could cause complications and additional breaks. To mitigate this risk, officials will fill the feeder main slowly, and use acoustic monitors and sensors to detect pressure spikes.
Mayor Jyoti Gondek will continue twice daily updates until full water service returns, which may be sooner than the estimated July 5 date.
While outdoor water restrictions remain in place, the city is supplying non-potable water to residents at seven locations throughout the city including Ogden boat launch, Baker Park, Spy Hill Landfill, Genesis Centre, Ambrose University, Bishop O’Byrne High School and Bankside Day Use area in Fish Creek Park. The Bankside location opens Wednesday morning.
The residential-use locations will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and people are asked to bring their own containers. Residents are limited to 100 liters per household.
Commercial-use locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
WATCH: City of Calgary morning update – June 25th
Welding has been completed at the sites of the hot spots and repair work on the main feeder is in the final stages, with backfilling starting today and continuing into tomorrow.
The timeline for full water services to be restored could have some positive news during the afternoon update, according to Gondek.
Calgary used 476 million liters of water on Monday, getting dangerously close to the threshold.
Completion of repairs to ruptured water main remain on schedule for Calgary Stampede
City officials remain optimistic a ruptured feeder main will be operational in time for the start of the Calgary Stampede, but cautioned it will be several days after repairs are completed before water is flowing through the line.
Mayor Jyoti Gondek and Michael Thompson, the city’s general manager of infrastructure services, repeated their previous forecasts that work should be completed by July 5 — one month after the line ruptured — but said contingencies remain in place until service is fully restored.
“Work is progressing but we’re not out of the woods yet as we enter this (next) phase,” Thompson said during Monday’s afternoon update. “We still have a lot of work to do and we’ll be updating with more information as we go forward.”
Once the last of the five identified hot spots is fixed, the site will need to be backfilled before the line is flushed and water returned to the system is tested, Thompson said.
“We need to ensure we take all the necessary steps to introduce water back into the pipe while we monitor closely for any additional issues,” he said.