Calgary warns residents of consequences if water use enters ‘risky red zone’
The work will focus on nine sections of the pipe in critical need along 16th Avenue N.W., near Sarcee Trail.
The shutdown of the Feeder Main, which normally supplies about 60 per cent of the city’s water, is scheduled to begin on March 9 and is expected to last four weeks. During that time, the city will rely on the smaller Glenmore Water Treatment Plant for Calgary’s water supply.
“Simply put, we will not be able to get as much water as usual from our plants to your taps. “Our underground storage tanks can hold about a day’s supply of water. If we use that storage up faster than we can refill it. It puts our system at risk,” said Michael Thompson, the city’s general manager of infrastructure services.
“If our demand is too high, we could face situations where we do not have enough water to fight fires. The pressure in our pipes drops too low, which could lead to a city while wide boil-water advisory. Or we have a major failure at our plant or elsewhere in the system and no water is available at all.”
The emergency repairs to the Bearspaw Feeder Main, which are scheduled to start on March 9, will focus on nine critically ill sections of the pipe along 16 Avenue N.W.
Source: City of Calgary
The city is asking residents to help out with reducing the city’s overall water consumption by about 3 per cent per day, or about 25 litres per person. Recommended steps include eliminating all outdoor water use, skipping toilet flushes, reducing showers to three minutes or less and only running dishwashers and washing machines with a full load.
However, during this round of water restrictions, the city has also slightly raised the total amount of water use it considers sustainable on a daily basis, which it estimated at 485 million litres during the last round of restrictions.
“We’ve learned how to move water more effectively and efficiently through the network. So we’re taking those lessons learned as well as the preparation work that we’re doing and we’ve been able to move that target up to 500 million litres per day,” Thompson said.
“Now, obviously, if we can save water and be below that target, it gives the plant more of a time to rest and for us to do a bit of work in the plant. And so we would really encourage everyone to save as much water as you can. The more we’re under that 500-million litre, target, the better it is for all of us — but 500 million litres will be our new target.”
Calgary water restrictions for feeder main repairs to return in March
Thompson said city staff will also be taking steps to conserve water. Measures include washing fire trucks, transit busses and other city vehicles only when necessary for health and safety reasons, adjusting cleaning procedures to conserve water, checking shower heads, toilets and pools for leaks, filling kiddie pools and hot tubs only when required for health reasons, reducing flooding in ice rinks and encouraging city employees to work from home if they can.
Frustration in Calgary over water infrastructure woes
“We’re encouraging Calgarians to do absolutely everything that they can in terms of managing their own, water use,” Mayor Jeromy Farkas said. “We’re encouraging employers to take those steps as well.”
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Farkas also cautioned that this is one of two planned, shutdowns, with the second taking place in the fall. “But there is nothing to say that the pipe could not unexpectedly break even in the summer months.”
Nicole Newton, the city’s director of climate, environment and ecology, said the city has also been working with the local business community to help them reduce their water use and has further contingency plans prepared “if we are in that risky red, red zone.”
The city plans to begin moving the equipment needed for the repairs into place this week.
The westbound exit from 16th Avenue N.W. onto Sarcee Trail will remain closed.
Some preliminary work, including removing sections of the concrete barrier that divides westbound and eastbound 16th Avenue N.W., will also take place.
Moratorium on development near feeder main
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As an extra precaution, the City of Calgary is limiting development near the ailing feeder main for the rest of the year.
The measures include a ban on digging within 10 metres of the existing feeder main, with limits on underground utility or service work on nearby roads.
According to the city, pile driving and activities that cause heavy vibrations will also be cautioned against.
Thompson said the measures are neccessary due to the worsening condition of the feeder main.
“The pipe is terminally ill, it’s in worse condition than we thought,” he told reporters. “We want to limit any disturbance around that pipe to really limit the potential that the pipe could break again.”
Although the measures won’t impact Calgarians who want to do renovation work or landscaping activities, the Calgary Inner City Builders Association (CICBA) said it would affect around 200 properties, including 35 with active building permits.
CICBA president Shameer Gaidhar told Global News infill development in the area isn’t impacting the feeder main.
“This is not due to infill construction,” he said. “It’s due to the proximity to the line.”
According to Gaidhar, city officials will be looking at redevelopment projects in the area on a case-by-case basis.
However, some residents in the area are welcoming the limit on new construction.
“I think that’s good because there’s been way too much development around here,” Paige Stone told Global News.
Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas defended the moratorium Monday afternoon, and noted the feeder main’s replacement project cannot face any interruptions if the pipe were to rupture for a third time.
“I fully support the difficult but necessary decisions of city staff on this,” Farkas said. “This is a neccesary step to avoid further disruption in the area that could cause unneccesary delays to the project.”
The moratorium will remain in place through to December, when the feeder main’s replacement is operational, city officials said.
That project, according to Thompson, is still on schedule.
On Thursday and Saturday of this week, the city of Calgary will also be hosting two drop-in open houses for residents who want to know more about the work that’s being done.
Details available on the city’s website.
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