The operators of Angels Cafe say it was forced to close due to loss of water supply and suffered infrastructure damage when the system was switched back on
A popular northwest cafe has begun a class action suit against the city, alleging its response to the June water feeder main break has financially and physically damaged it.
“Angel’s Café, situated near the rupture site, experienced multiple closures and severe economic losses during critical weekends such as Father’s Day and Canada Day Weekend, traditionally busy periods for the restaurant,” states a press release issued by Calgary legal firm Napoli Shkolnik Canada.
“It also suffered physical damage to its property caused by a water line rupture during the city’s attempts to restore the Bearspaw water main, exacerbating the financial impact.”
The city said it was forced to close sections of the riverside pathway along the north side of the Bow River near Edworthy Park during repair work in June.
Angels Cafe owner Cathy Jacob said that disrupted and damaged her business.
At the heart of its legal action is an allegation the city should have been more proactive in preventing the rupture, given the failure of similar types of pipe in numerous other jurisdictions and in 2004 in Calgary’s northeast.
“This lawsuit is also meant to serve as a wakeup call for municipalities across Canada who fail to adequately inspect, maintain, and repair critical pieces of municipal infrastructure, highlighting the urgent need for stricter enforcement of safety regulations and investment in infrastructure resilience,” states the plaintiff.
Businesses that suffered damages at the “ground zero” of the feeder main rupture at 16 Ave. and Home Rd. N.W. might also join the class action, said Clint Docken of Napoli Shkolnik Canada, adding there’s a preliminary claim of $10 million.
“Whether that amount is representative or not, we’re trying to sort out the respective damages,” said Docken, adding the city should have taken action long before the crisis.
“It was obvious to them – Quebec City and Denver had (similar) problems and there were 600 problem occurrences with this (type) of pipe.”
As of noon Friday, the city hadn’t commented on the class action suit.
City officials have said they were stunned by the June 5 rupture, that the 49-year-old section of pipe should have lasted 100 years and that there’s no one to blame for its unexpected failure.
And they’ve said previously there’ll be no compensation for businesses impacted by the crisis.
An independent review of the rupture and ways to prevent another one from happening that could last a year is impending, though city council has yet to decide how its panel members will be appointed.
Meanwhile, a day after it eased water restrictions to allow Calgarians one hour a week of sprinkler and hose use on lawns and gardens, Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the city remains on track to further loosening those measures on Monday to allow for two hours a week of such usage.
“The team is forecasting that if everything continues to go smoothly and as anticipated, there may be a move towards stage 1 restrictions early next week,” she said Friday morning.
“We are being very cautious and ensuring that we’re not adding too much stress to the system at this important time in our restoration.”
She said water use spiked Thursday — the first day of stage 2 restrictions — to 629 million litres, up from the 530-580 million litre range earlier in week.
680 million litres of consumption is typical for a hot July day with no restrictions, added Gondek.
This comes as relentless hot weather that’s led to a heat warning is forecast to last for another week, with temperatures above 30C.