As the northwest Calgary community of Bowness continues to grapple with the repercussions of a water main break that started nearly one week ago, the city’s mayor is asking Calgarians to increase their support for residents and business owners in the area.
While Calgarians are advised to stay away from the site of the break at 16 Avenue NW and Home Road NW, Mayor Jyoti Gondek encouraged residents to pay a visit to the community, especially as Father’s Day nears.
“Anybody that’s itching to get in to Bowness or Montgomery, you should absolutely do so,” she said during an update Tuesday. “The businesses in that community have taken a hit over the last few days and with Father’s Day coming up, I think it’s really important that you think about where you might go shopping to get dad a gift and better than that, take dad out — take him out for brunch, take him out for lunch, take him out for dinner and you can do that in Bowness in Montgomery.”
The boil water advisory was lifted for Bowness Monday evening, after first being introduced late last week. Gondek says this is incredibly good news for everyone that lives and works in the area.
“To everyone in Bowness: your patience and your strength over the last five days has been unwavering and we appreciate it so much,” she said. “The way you looked after each other was commendable.”
Outdoor water restrictions are still in place, as is a fire ban. Calgarians are also asked to be smart about their indoor water use by taking steps such as reducing shower lengths, putting off loads of laundry and dishes, and turning off ice makers and humidifiers.
Right now, Calgary’s maximum threshold is 480 million litres of consumption.
On Monday, the city used around 472 million litres, which is up from the weekend by about 15 to 30 million litres.
However, Gondek chalks this up to Calgarians catching up on their laundry, dishes, and showers, saying she is confident use can take another tip Tuesday and into the weekend.
It’s still likely a while before things return to morning, according to the mayor.
“Remember, the most optimistic scenario we were offered on the weekend was that we might have the feedermain repaired in five to seven days,” Gondek said. “Following that, it still needs to be flushed and the water will need to be tested.
“That means several more days of all of us being low water user.”
A water break separate from the feeder main was found Monday in Bowness, affecting about 20 households.
Gondek says while water breaks happen all the time — the city deals with about 200 a year — the most recent event is still another blow to the people of Bowness.
“Repairs are underway, but it serves as a reminder for why all of us need to keep reducing our water use,” she said.
The mayor even provided insight to some of the new technology being used by crews to examine and evaluate the break — such as robots with state-of-the-art sensors.
“It sounds like something out of a movie, but it’s actually the type of technology we can use here in Calgary to make sure that the water system is safe for everyone,” Gondek said.
Another update on the situation in Bowness is expected at 2 p.m., where it’s possible we might see some of the footage collected by those robots for the first time.