Update Sept. 4: Critical water main repair affecting city-wide water usage
Yesterday, we were able to set a new water consumption target of 485 million litres per day. Our engineering and operational teams have been working hard to find new ways to reroute water and increase supply, creating a buffer to protect our system from severe impacts. However, even with this extra capacity, it's still crucial to conserve water during repairs. While we saw big reductions in water use on Saturday and Sunday, the past few days our use has been more than 500 million litres a day. Even with our increased supply, this is simply not sustainable.
As seen in the graph below, it’s crucial to keep our daily water use in the green zone at 485 million litres and under.
The yellow zone occurs at a rate of 485 million litres to 500 million litres of water. In this zone we are challenged to replenish our underground storage reservoirs to ensure we have enough water for essential services like firefighting and hospitals. It is also difficult to take the pumps offline for maintenance as we are pushing the system hard.
The red zone occurs at a rate of 500 million litres and above, which is unstainable and puts us at the greatest risk of running out of water before the feeder main is brought back into service.
Water use
Yesterday’s water use was 506 million litres, which is up from 505 million litres yesterday, and puts us in the red zone. At this rate we are pushing our system beyond its safe limits. Like an elastic band, if stretched too far it could snap or at minimum, fail to bounce back to its original shape.
As we continue to meet Calgary’s water needs, we are actively trying to manage two things:
- Ensuring that neighbourhood reservoirs are adequately filled, which is essential for keeping water flowing to your taps—the more water we use, the harder it becomes to replenish these reservoirs leading to water shortages.
- Protecting the Glenmore Water Treatment Plant and pumping stations. Excessive water use puts strain on these systems increasing the risk of maintenance issues or overheating, both of which would significantly impact our ability to distribute water.
In the past couple of days, we experienced a pump failure and an issue with a component in our water treatment process. Our team quickly resolved these problems, but it highlights the importance of not pushing our system too hard. With high temperatures in the forecast this week, we need to take steps to reduce demand as we know that water use typically increases in hotter weather.
We know that most Calgarians are doing their part. Typically, we would see an average daily use of 600 million litres. For the past two days we have been around 500 million litres. This means we are currently over 80% of the way to reaching our target of 485 million litres per day. Simple actions like flushing the toilet one less time, taking 3-minute showers, running only full loads of laundry and ensuring dishwashers are full before use are three actions that will make the biggest difference in reducing our water use and help us meet our target.
Bylaw and enforcement
Under Stage 4 Outdoor Water Restrictions all outdoor water use with City water is prohibited. To enforce restrictions, we have increased our presence in communities and are monitoring compliance. As of today, we have issued 11 tickets, each with a $3,000 fine. Of the tickets issued, seven were for residential customers, two were for multi-family housing and two were for commercial properties.
Since repair work began on August 26, we have received over 1,000 complaints. This includes 154 commercial properties, 74 multi-family properties and 715 residential properties which are all for outdoor water use. Our Bylaw Officers are actively following up on these complaints and expect to issue many more tickets in the coming days.
Construction update
Construction remains on schedule to be completed by September 23.
Excavation is complete on all 12 pipe segments at sites one through four (in pink) along 33 Avenue N.W. and at Shouldice Park. We've made significant progress by encasing pipes in concrete at four of these segments and have started the concrete curing process for some repairs.
Additionally, excavation has now begun at site five, the final site on 33 Avenue N.W. We continue to work closely with impacted residents, and we appreciate their patience and understanding as we complete this work.
Construction on sites six through eight (in orange) along 16 Avenue N.W. is scheduled to begin tomorrow, September 5. To make sure this work is done safely and efficiently, 16 Avenue N.W. will be closed between 46 Street N.W. to 41 Street N.W. and traffic will be redirected to Bowness Road, which will remain fully open in both directions with direct access to 16 Avenue N.W. and businesses.
Our traffic plan will keep most business driveways open, allow for parking and provide clear directions for customers. Free short-term parking is available throughout the community. We want to encourage Calgarians to shop local and keep supporting Montgomery and Bowness businesses.
We want to thank Calgarians and our regional partners for your ongoing support. Please continue your efforts to reduce water—every drop counts. It’s essential to get us through these urgent repairs and ensure we have a stable water supply through winter. For the latest updates, water saving tips, and much more at calgary.ca/savewater.