City making "good progress" on fixing Calgary water main break, but still doesn't know why it happened

Crews are making "good progress" in repairing Calgary's second catastrophic water main break in less than two years, despite the cold weather, according to the city's latest update Saturday.

"Obviously when we're working in the cold, it does slow things down, it's more difficult. The crews are doing really well outside right now on this repair," said Michael Thompson, general manager of Infrastructure Services.

So far, the water has been drained from the site, the pipe has been excavated, and it is being cut to prepare for its removal, said Thompson. The city has previously set a goal timeline to have repairs done two weeks from when the pipe burst on Dec. 30.

But what caused the pipe to burst remains unclear.

"We're actively working on determining why the pipe broke," Thompson said.

He shared images of this break compared to what the break of a different section of the Bearspaw south feeder main looked like in 2024. Thompson said unlike the previous one, this "appears to be very clean, and almost like a zipper that opened up the pipe."

Continued calls to cut back on water

Water usage creeped up again Friday, with 493 million litres used — higher than the target goal of 485 million litres or less, according to Sue Henry, Calgary Emergency Management Agency chief.

The city has asked Calgarians to reduce their water consumption so as to not deplete water storage supplies while repairs are being done. They request people take showers of three minutes or under, limit flushing and run dishwashers and washing machines only when full.

Henry said there is concern for what Monday will bring, as students return to school and others to work after the holidays.

"We are worried about the demand on Monday and remind Calgarians to be really mindful of water consumption as you undertake a new routine in these circumstances," she said.

A boil water advisory remains in place for parts of four communities: Point McKay, Parkdale, Montgomery and West Hillhurst.

Mayor responds to Smith's oversight idea

Mayor Jeromy Farkas said he would "welcome" discussions with Premier Danielle Smith about her suggestion the province might establish oversight of the city's water system.

He said he would also like those conversations to include talk of increased provincial funds, which Smith said Friday could be tied to the province taking on a bigger role.

"If greater funding came to municipalities, we'd expect there to be a greater accountability for those funds, so that they know how the money is being spent," Farkas said.

Farkas also agreed with Smith that there was blame to be laid on past councils for another infrastructure failure in the city. The premier specifically pointed the finger at Naheed Nenshi, who was Calgary's mayor from 2010 to 2021 and now leads the Alberta NDP.

"This is an issue that's been contributed to by successive city councils, but our council is united in terms of the buck stops with us," he said.