‘Part of the work we’re doing this weekend is planning whether to start increasing the flow again,’ said Francois Bouchart, city director of capital priorities
Next steps for the Bearspaw feeder main and what they mean for water restrictions are to be announced Monday, city officials say.
Crews have continued work through the weekend to determine if additional pumps can be turned on at the Bearspaw water treatment facility, said Francois Bouchart, Calgary’s director of capital priorities and investment.
“Doing this will increase the amount of water we’re able to supply to Calgary and the surrounding areas,” Bouchart said. “However, it will also increase the amount of pressure and potential stress on the feeder main walls.”
They are “moving cautiously” because they don’t want to risk another break that could set back progress, according to Bouchart.
Flow through the Bearspaw feeder main remains at 55 per cent capacity, which will need to be increased by turning on additional pumps before water restrictions can be lowered.
“Part of the work we’re doing this weekend is planning whether to start increasing the flow again,” he said.
Last week three snaps were detected in wires coiling around different segments of the feeder main — wire coils hundreds of times around each 16-foot segment of pipe.
“A single snap is not a sign that a new break in the pipe is imminent, but it does give us information about how the pipe is responding to pressure,” Bouchart said.
Engineering teams are using multiple acoustic monitoring devices along the pipe and a pipe diver to retrieve more precise analysis. Officials expect results by the end of July from monitoring.
“These results will help determine our approach over the coming month,” Bouchart said. “We will have more to share on our next steps and what they mean for outdoor water use tomorrow (Monday).”
As of Sunday, no further snaps have been discovered along the feeder main.
Water demand was 535 million litres on Saturday, down from 554 million litres used on Friday and 565 million litres on Thursday.
“With Stage 3 outdoor water restrictions in place, we are able to meet the current demand,” Bouchart said Saturday.