Update August 22: Critical water main repair affecting city-wide water usage
Our teams have begun early construction work on 33 Avenue N.W., between 78 Street and 87 Street N.W. We recognize the concerns of residents and businesses in the area and have been actively engaging with the community to address issues related to noise, parking and pedestrian access. We are hosting a pop-up session this week for local community members to answer questions and provide information on construction details and impacts in their area.
We are committed to keeping all Calgarians informed through clear and regular updates as the construction progresses. We know that the upcoming water restrictions and construction impacts are challenging for everyone, particularly for those living and working near the repair sites.
Construction update
Construction work is underway on 33 Avenue N.W. with significant activities set to begin on Monday.
The initial phase of the construction on 33 Avenue N.W. involves three key steps.
- Preparation of the work site: this work includes marking the road, gathering heavy equipment and machinery on the site, installing fencing and setting up necessary road closures.
- Saw-cutting: our crews have begun sawing into sections of the pavement on 33 Avenue N.W., which is the first step of the excavation process in exposing the feeder main.
- Excavation: this step involves crews removing sections of the road and material underground to expose the feeder main, which will begin on August 27. At the same time, we will be depressurizing the feeder main.
Later next week, repair work on the feeder main in Shouldice Park will also begin. The work in Shouldice Park will not affect traffic on 16 Avenue N.W. There may be temporary disruptions on Montseraat Drive however, which is immediately adjacent to the repair location.
As always, we ask Calgarians to stay away from the construction site and allow our crews to safely carry out their work.
Road closures
To ensure a safe construction environment for workers, sections of 33 Avenue N.W. between 76 Street N.W. and 87 Street N.W. will be closed. Additionally, we have closed the right-hand, westbound lane of 16 Avenue N.W. near 43 Street N.W. to prepare for upcoming repairs on the feeder main in that area. This lane closure is a precautionary measure before the actual repair work begins.
We can now share the exact repair and approximate worksite locations for the work that will be taking place along 33 Avenue N.W. between 78 Street N.W. and 87 Street N.W. and at Shouldice Park.
In the maps attached above, the blue line identified is the feeder main. The pink boxes are the exact repair locations. The orange boxes outline approximate worksite locations. Fencing around the worksites will start being set up on Sunday, August 25. Click on the maps above to access a larger version.
Residents and community members in the affected areas will be receiving more detailed maps. The maps will be updated regularly and will also be available on calgary.ca later this week.
No supply impacts of rail strike
With the recent rail strike, we have heard concerns about whether it will impact the feeder main repair, particularly in terms of supplies. Fortunately, The City of Calgary is well-prepared. We have a sufficient supply of chemicals needed for water treatment, including a strong inventory of chlorine and other essential materials.
We have multiple contracts with chemical suppliers for our water treatment plants. Additionally, we buy the raw ingredients to produce our own chlorine supply on site and these ingredients are produced within the province and delivered by truck.
As a precaution, we are actively monitoring our supply levels and taking on additional stock where necessary. Any potential long-term impacts are being addressed through our Supply Chain Resilience Strategy, which includes working with our suppliers directly to ensure supply is available, so we don’t anticipate the rail strike to cause us any immediate disruptions.
Water reduction strategies for businesses
Today, we heard from Andrew Bullied, Director of Operations at Annex Ale on behalf of the Alberta Small Brewers Association about the recommended water reduction guidelines for Calgary small breweries.
Brewing beer and other beverages typically requires a lot of water. Annex Ale, for example, usually uses about 5.5 litres of water for every litre of beer they produce. However, by implementing water-saving measures such as reusing rinse water and limiting certain filtration processes, they were able to cut their water usage to 3.5 litres per litre of beer, a 36% reduction. This saved them approximately 90,000 litres of water during the first round of Stage 4 Outdoor Water Restrictions.
Water reduction efforts aren't just important for breweries; they hold valuable lessons for other local businesses, too. We are asking businesses, especially those that are water-intensive, to help us protect our water supply.
We recommend sharing water-saving tips with staff and customers and have posters available for download that can be printed and posted in areas where water is used. Visit calgary.ca/savewateratwork to download a copy and for more information on how businesses can prepare.
We’ll continue meeting with businesses to learn how we can best support their operations during the repair work.
We will also be opening our non-potable water stations for residents and businesses to pick up river water, free of charge for commercial and residential use. More information on locations and hours will be provided on calgary.ca when available.
Stage 4 Outdoor Water Restrictions
Starting Monday, August 26 we are entering Stage 4 Outdoor Water Restrictions again, which means all outdoor watering is prohibited.
We encourage Calgarians to reduce their indoor water use as well by taking the following steps:
- Limit your laundry to essential and full loads
- Only run your dishwasher when it’s full
- Limit showers to three minutes and skip a day, if possible
- Limit flushing to only when it’s necessary.
We know the ongoing water restrictions, which have been in place since June 5, have been challenging for everyone—residents, businesses, industries and our regional partners. Your cooperation is crucial as we undertake these critical repairs to the Bearspaw South Feeder Main and we sincerely appreciate your support.