Calgary water service could be restored by Canada Day if tests go well: mayor

Calgary’s mayor says if everything goes according to plan, the city’s water conservation crisis could be over by Canada Day.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek says water service could be fully restored and restrictions lifted by July 1 if upcoming steps to stabilize a replacement water pipe go as planned.

“If there are any problems in any of those steps … it could be more days,” Gondek told a news conference Wednesday.

“We can see the finish line. It’s close, but we still have more work to do.”

Gondek said until the “all clear” is given, Calgarians can’t lose focus and need to reduce their water use by 25 per cent to avoid the taps going dry.

She said daily water usage has been climbing in recent days but remains below the threshold of 480 million litres needed to keep service going and provide firefighters with the resources to combat emergencies.

Calgary, a city of 1.6 million people, and surrounding communities, including Airdrie, Chestermere and Tsuut’ina Nation, have been under a combination of mandatory and voluntary water restrictions since a water main burst in the city’s northwest three weeks ago.

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Residents have been asked to limit indoor water use by flushing their toilets less often and doing fewer loads of laundry. Outdoor watering is banned, and people have been encouraged to hydrate their plants using rainwater collected in kiddie pools and other containers.

The timeline has been moving up in recent days as crews scramble to have the line running before the city’s major summer festival, the Calgary Stampede, begins on July 5.

Francois Bouchard, Calgary’s infrastructure director, said over the next few days, engineers will pump millions of litres of water through the 4.5 kilometres of replacement water pipe to test it.

The process was set to start Wednesday night and take up to two days.

Once the pipe is full, he said, workers will flush it out and send the water to Alberta Health Services for testing.

“At each of these steps, there’s a risk of additional breakage or setbacks,” he said.

“People in the community above us may notice an increase in the taste and smell of chlorine in their drinking water. I want to assure you that the water is safe for consumption.”

Gondek said she plans to reach out to her counterpart in Quebec City to offer support or expertise as that city also deals with its own water main break.

She added the water crisis in Calgary has shown the city could be a leader in helping other municipalities receive fair funding as its aging water infrastructure across Canada needs replacing.

“I’m working with my fellow mayors across the country to make sure that our cities get our fair share of infrastructure dollars to keep water flowing in our cities with safety and certainty,” she said.