Businesses that altered operations are also being allowed to return to normal, including car washes and indoor pools, city officials say.
The city has lifted voluntary indoor water restrictions, although outdoor restrictions remain, as the final stabilization phase of the ruptured water main continues.
Businesses that cut back on water use are also being allowed to return to normal, including car washes and indoor pools, said Emergency Management Agency Chief Sue Henry.
The state of local emergency also remains in place while the city is in the monitoring stage of the repaired pipe, Mayor Jyoti Gondek said Tuesday. It expires Thursday, at which point more information will be available.
“We are one giant step closer to restoring full water usage,” Gondek said.
“We look forward to slowly restoring outdoor water use, as we continue to monitor the system’s stabilization process.”
The city was able to safely increase production at the Bearspaw water treatment facility, allowing for maintenance on the Glenmore facility, which has been running at capacity to keep up with demand since the water crisis began nearly a month ago.
The city has also been working to reduce the turbidity or “cloudiness” some Calgarians experienced in their water by flushing hydrants, Gondek said. Officials emphasized that cloudy water remains safe to drink.
Now up to 50 per cent capacity, slowly reintroducing pressure to the Bearspaw feeder main is in line with what private sector operators do in the process of returning service, according to the city’s infrastructure services general manager Michael Thompson.
“That’s a measure of turning on different pumps at the Bearspaw water treatment plant — as we turn on more pumps, we move more water through that pipe — measuring how it’s reacting,” said Thompson.
“We continue to monitor the feeder main by listening for breaks and measuring pressure changes, and I’m happy to report that the system’s responding well so far,” he said.
City bringing back some services
With businesses such as car washes and pools being allowed to reopen, some city facilities are set to resume normal operations.
“We are in the process of bringing back the city services — which includes pools, ice rinks and rec centres,” said Henry.
Most city-owned indoor pools will open Wednesday, with a priority on main pools and dive tanks, said Henry. Showers in city facilities also opened Tuesday, and arenas will open at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
“Swimming lessons will resume tomorrow, July 3, and all customers will be receiving an email from the city as a confirmation,” Henry said.
Spray parks and street sweeping are still paused; city officials anticipate more information to become available later this week.
Price tag for water crisis to come at later date
Determining the total cost of the repair will happen at a later date.
“There’s no ballpark available right now,” Gondek said. “Until we have a comprehensive understanding of how much this cost, talking about the numbers at this point would not be useful to anyone.
“We want to be able to give you a full picture.”
Gondek said there is currently no request for provincial funding for the crisis.
“Because we don’t have a total of the costs, it doesn’t make sense to reach out to the province and ask yet. The province knows that if we need assistance, I will be calling them,” said Gondek.
At Tuesday morning’s briefing, Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver said he expects the province will hear from Calgary at some point about funds for the repair.
“When we do, we will carefully consider their request — but I can make a promise today, that I’m not sure that we can say yes (to a request),” McIver said.
Calgarians asked to ‘ease’ into regular water use
The city continues to encourage people to conserve water to avoid placing too much strain on the system. Thompson said that means being “thoughtful” about spreading out water use needs.
“Not doing all your waiting laundry in one day, but instead doing one load a day for the coming days,” he said.
“We still need to be able to rely on the rain, or rely on these depots to help keep our gardens healthy,” said Henry.
— With files from Mary-Ellen Southwick