Outdoor water restrictions, imposed by the city on Aug. 26, could be lifted by this weekend
The city began filling the Bearspaw south feeder main Tuesday morning, on track for restrictions lifting during the coming weekend.
Once the pipe is filled and water is tested and deemed safe to drink, the city will move to stabilize the system, which involves reconnecting the feeder main to the rest of the water distribution network.
“We have a significant amount of pipe to refill and this stage will take three days and 22 million litres of water in total,” Francois Bouchart, the city’s director of capital priorities and investment, said during an update Tuesday afternoon.
Calgarians used 489 million litres of water on Sunday and 492 million litres on Monday, which falls in the “yellow zone” above the city’s 485 million litre target.
Bouchart said that as the pipe is refilled, water demand will rise by about seven million litres per day up to 22 million litres.
“This will not impact the amount of potable water available for customers,” he said.
Water being used to fill the feeder main will come from the Bearspaw water treatment plant and is on top of what is already in the water distribution system, according to Bouchart.
Water quality testing will take about 24 hours, he said.
“When we have confirmed that the water is safe we will move into stabilizing the system, including opening valves to reconnect the feeder main to the rest of the water distribution network,” said Bouchart.
“Once all these steps are complete, we will lift water restrictions,” he said.
Calgary is still on schedule for the target of Sept. 21 or 22 for lifting of water restrictions.
Bouchart said 33rd Avenue N.W. east of 83rd Street N.W. is expected to open on Tuesday afternoon.
“We expect to reopen 33rd Avenue northwest, from 83rd Street to 87th Street later this week,” he said.
Minor landscaping will be done at Shouldice Park in the coming weeks.
“These final stages of construction are ongoing and do not impact the filling of the pipe or lifting of restrictions,” Bouchart said.