Calgarians and surrounding areas continue saving water as Bearspaw South Feeder Main reinforcement work moves into week three
As we enter our third week of planned reinforcement work on the Bearspaw South Feeder Main, we want to thank Calgarians and our neighbours in Airdrie, Chestermere, Strathmore and Tsuut’ina Nation for continuing to reduce your water use.
Yesterday, total water use was 504 million litres. That total includes about five million litres used to refill a section of the feeder main that did not require reinforcement. This temporarily increased our water demand, meaning you only used 499 million litres of water.
Your water-saving actions were especially important in helping us manage that demand and help us keep water flowing across the region until the entire pipe is back in service.
We cannot return the feeder main to full service until all reinforcement work is complete.
We are asking everyone to continue saving 25 litres of water per person, per day, by:
- Flushing toilets only when needed.
- Keeping showers to three minutes or less.
- Running dishwashers and washing machines only with full loads.
We know saving water takes extra effort. By staying focused on these daily water-saving actions, we can finish strong in the green zone and ensure we have enough capacity in our system to respond to unexpected issues or emergencies.
Construction update
We have about two weeks of reinforcement work remaining. Concrete pours are now complete at all nine segments of pipe. At six of these segments, the concrete has already cured and backfilling is done. We are waiting for curing to finish at the other three segments.
Over the coming days, crews will continue backfilling the remaining sections of pipe as curing completes. We will then move through the steps required to safely restore the pipe to service.
Alongside the reinforcement work, we repaired a valve at the Shaganappi Pump Station. That valve work is now complete, and we have refilled that section of the pipe. We are planning to connect this section to the rest of the water system tomorrow, once all water quality testing is complete. People in north Calgary may notice cloudy water. This will be temporary, and the water is safe to drink.
Traffic and community updates
Lane closures remain in place along 16th Avenue N.W. Additional closures that had been scheduled for this week have been postponed to next week. We will provide more details closer to the start.
Thank you for your patience. Please plan ahead, follow posted signage and give crews space to work safely as we complete this work.
We thank all residents and businesses in Calgary and our neighbouring communities for continuing to save water. For the latest updates, practical tips and resources for residents and businesses, visit calgary.ca/savewater.