The three include University of Calgary president Dr. Ed McAuley, TransMountain Corp. board chair Dawn Farrell and ATCO Energy Systems COO Wayne Stensby
Three “prominent community leaders” from Calgary’s business and academic communities will help select the chair of the third-party panel that will investigate the June 5 rupture of the Bearspaw south water feeder main.
The trio includes University of Calgary president Dr. Ed McCauley, TransMountain Corp. board chair Dawn Farrell and ATCO Energy Systems chief operating officer Wayne Stensby.
David Duckworth, the city’s chief administrative officer, said the three-member “advisory group” will work with an executive search firm that will be responsible for recruiting the independent panel’s chair. That person will then appoint other members of the panel, comprising water utility experts, academics and engineers.
The panel’s mandate will be to review what led to the failure of the feeder main on June 5 — an incident that drastically reduced Calgary’s treated water supply and led to a days-long boil-water advisory in Bowness, more than a month of outdoor water restrictions and a citywide fire ban while the pipeline was undergoing repairs.
The panel will also investigate the city’s response to the incident, determine total costs and assess the viability of Calgary’s water distribution network.
“I know this incident has had a significant impact on Calgarians,” Duckworth said during a report to council Tuesday night. “The feeder main is a crucial part of the city’s water system and it unexpectedly failed. The destruction affected the delivery of reliable potable water to both Calgarians and residents in nearby communities.
“We want and need to learn what happened so we can take action to reinforce the reliability and resiliency of our water delivery for years to come.”
‘Independence matters’: Review about regaining public trust, says councillor
He said the review is about regaining public trust, so “the level of independence matters.”
“To make sure we do this with speed, you get some volunteers with some extreme expertise within the area of water and pipes, and you allow them to choose the people who will be doing the research and the analysis and report back to council without any direct involvement by city administration,” Walcott said.
After the panel chair is recruited, Duckworth said the advisory group will be dissolved.
And once the review is underway, chief operating officer Stuart Dalgleish will be the city’s only point of contact.
“For this review to be truly independent, neither city administration nor city council should be involved in the review process, including participating as a panel member or in the recruitment of the panel chair,” Duckworth said. “Nor should they be involved with recommending or advocating for scope or engagement activities, nor advising on deliverables or the consulting choices of the panel.”
There’s no deadline for when the panel has to be selected, but Duckworth previously said the review will likely last more than a year.
Costs related to the review will be covered by the city’s utility sustainment reserve, which is covered by utility rates. The water-related portion of that reserve contained a little less than $43 million at the end of 2023, according to Duckworth.
The city will provide the panel with any relevant information or data.
“For this to be successful, the review panel must have full discretion related to all decisions to ensure the review will be conducted without any bias or conflict of interest,” Duckworth said.
In a statement to Postmedia, the University of Calgary said its president is excited to contribute to the panel’s selection process in an impartial manner.
“This is important work that will inform the long-term reliability of Calgary’s drinking water distribution system,” the statement read.