City encourages residents and businesses to keep up water saving efforts as Bearspaw South Feeder Main work enters final weeks

As we wrap up the second 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 water use.

After two days of staying in the green zone and below our 500 million litres per day demand threshold, yesterday’s water use came in just above the line at 501 million litres.

We know the desire to start some outdoor spring cleaning is kicking in as the weather warms up and that Spring Break is around the corner, but with a few weeks still to go, we ask everyone to keep up the great water savings work they have done so far.

We are asking everyone to save 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.

Even if you don’t live near the immediate construction area, the water flowing to your taps is all coming from the same place. If everyone can stay focused on these daily actions, we can help keep our system stable and water flowing reliably to your taps while the Bearspaw South Feeder Main is out of service.

Construction update

Crews continue to make progress on the planned reinforcement of the Bearspaw South Feeder Main.

We are reinforcing a total of nine pipe segments:

• Six segments on 16 Avenue N.W., near Sarcee Trail
• Three segments in Point McKay Park 

Rebar work on the final pipe segments is now complete. Concrete pours will continue for the remainder of the week, and concrete curing is underway for completed pours. Crews are backfilling around the pipe at segments where concrete has cured.  

Valve replacement at the Shaganappi Pump Station will be completed this weekend, and we will then be able to start refilling that section of the pipe. This is only one section out of a total of three, and we won’t be able to refill the others and bring the pipe back into service until the reinforcement and backfilling are complete.

Refilling this one section will use about 5 million litres of water, supplied from the Glenmore Water Treatment Plant, which will temporarily increase overall water demand over the weekend or into Monday. Those in the area may see water released at Shaganappi Pump station and into the river as refilling is completed.

We are asking everyone to continue saving water to help manage our demand until all repairs are complete and the entire pipe is back in service.

Traffic and community updates

Starting March 24, construction will begin on the final microtunnelling shaft for the new steel pipe at 16 Avenue N.W. near 44 Street S.W.

A work area will be set up in the parking lot on the south side of 16 Avenue N.W. and will remain in place until the new pipe is in operation in December 2026.

There will be the following intermittent traffic impacts, including short-term lane closures related to this worksite:

• March 24–25: single-lane closure eastbound on 16 Avenue N.W. in this area.
• Beginning April 1 for approximately two weeks, and again in May and June: eastbound lanes closed in this area with one lane of traffic maintained in each direction.

We know these closures will impact travel, and we thank you for your patience. Please plan ahead, follow posted signage and give crews space to work safely as we complete this project and bring the new pipe into service in December.

Message for businesses

We have been hearing about all the creative and innovative ways many local businesses are saving water.

We encourage all businesses to:

• Review operations for unnecessary water use.
• Fix leaks and adjust processes where possible.
• Share water‑saving ideas with staff and customers. 

Thank you again for doing your part to save water, every action makes a difference as we complete this important work as quickly and safely as possible.

For the latest updates, practical tips and resources for residents and businesses, visit calgary.ca/savewater.