Update August 28: Critical water main repair affecting city-wide water usage
Water use
Yesterday our water use dropped to 497 million litres, down from 533 million litres on Monday. While this is still above our daily target of 450 million litres, it is encouraging to see that more people are taking the needed steps to reduce their water use. Thank you to everyone who has adjusted their routines, and to our neighbours in Airdrie, Strathmore, Chestermere and Tsuut’ina Nation for doing their part as well.
The urgency of these repairs cannot be overstated. We must complete the repairs to the feeder main now to avoid the risk of another catastrophic break over winter. We have a short window to complete this work before winter.
With the feeder main out of service, our water supply from the Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant is significantly reduced. Instead, we are relying heavily on the smaller Glenmore Water Treatment Plant and exceeding our daily water usage target of 450 million litres per day puts us at risk of running out of water. Your efforts to reduce water use are incredibly important to ensure we are making the most of our limited water supply.
Again, we are appealing to all Calgarians: if you haven’t started reducing water yet, now is the time. We understand that this is an adjustment, just like it was in June, but we need everyone's cooperation to be able to complete repairs before winter.
Stage 4 Outdoor Water Restrictions
Stage 4 Outdoor Water Restrictions are in effect. This means outdoor water use with City water is prohibited. Please check that your irrigation systems are turned off. If you need to water your trees or gardens, you can use non-potable water sources like your rain barrel, grey water or river water from one of our designated pick-up locations.
With the rain today, now is an excellent time to collect water from downspouts and in rain barrels or other containers for use over the next few weeks.
Steps Calgarians can take to reduce indoor water use
Indoors, we’re asking Calgarians to focus on taking three actions that make the biggest difference in reducing water use.
- Limit showers to 3 minutes or less: Shortening a shower from five minutes to three minutes quickly adds up to significant water savings. Even better is switching to once every two days rather than daily showers.
- Run laundry and dishwashers only when full: Washing machines are one of the biggest users of water inside your home. In addition to running full loads, reduce the number of loads you do each week by prioritizing the clothes you need to get through the week.
- Flush toilets only when necessary: Every time you skip a flush you save six litres of water. This adds up. If we each skip one flush every day, it adds up to 8.4 million litres, the equivalent of three Olympic-sized swimming pools. You can also collect your shower water to flush the toilet.
For more water saving tips, visit calgary.ca/savewater. Every small effort adds up and helps us manage our limited water supply.
Construction update
We continue to make progress on construction. Yesterday we turned off the Bearspaw South Feeder Main and began draining it, a process we expect to complete by the end of today.
On 33 Avenue N.W., we have now exposed three sections of pipe at two repair sites. Excavation is also underway at Shouldice Park and will continue throughout the day.
As the pipe segments are exposed, our crews are assessing their condition to confirm that our planned repair method is appropriate. We have contingency plans in place if a different repair method is necessary. Once everything is confirmed, we will start preparing the pipes to be encased in reinforced steel and concrete.
Our focus over the next two weeks is on the work sites along 33 Avenue N.W. and in Shouldice Park. Additional pipe segments will be exposed for repair throughout the week.
We have also started reaching out to businesses and residents along 16 Avenue N.W. to keep them informed about the work. Next week, we will start urgent repairs on 16 Avenue N.W., and will provide more details on the construction plans later this week.
We are happy to share that the westbound lane of 16 Avenue N.W. at 43 Street N.W. has been re-opened as of noon today now that work is underway.
We're optimistic that tomorrow's water use numbers will drop further thanks to the ongoing efforts of Calgarians and our regional partners. It's crucial that we all continue saving water through September while the feeder main is out of service. We'll be keeping a close eye on our water usage and system performance and are working around the clock to complete the repairs as quickly and safely as possible.