There wasn’t much new information in Mayor Jyoti Gondek’s Friday morning update, where she provided a recap on what’s happened each day since the water feeder main ruptured on June 5.
She says at the upcoming council meeting, she’ll be asking questions about what budget considerations can be made to ensure Calgary’s infrastructure is up to date.
“Next week at council, on Tuesday, I’m going to be asking important questions to find out what we need in the budget so we have the technology and inspection methods that are needed to understand the type of state that our water infrastructure is in,” Gondek said.
The mayor added she will “be calling in all favours” from the provincial and federal governments who have said they are willing and ready to step up and support as needed.
Gondek especially gave praise to Premier Danielle Smith and Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver for their help.
“That is the least we can do, is give you that peace of mind that we are looking after our infrastructure,” she said. “It’s my primary focus to ensure we have safety and security of water infrastructure in our city.”
She went on to say another aim is to make sure this situation doesn’t happen to anyone else.
“If it happened in Calgary, it can happen anywhere,” Gondek said, explaining she has been in communication with the chair and co-chair of the Big City Mayors’ Caucus to ask for advice. “I needed to make sure that the experience we’ve had here in Calgary translates to lessons learned and preemptive behaviour for other cities as well.”
It’s unclear what that could look like, but possibilities include a task force, working group, or panel.
July 5 remains the date when water service may return to normal across Calgary.
Stage 4 outdoor water restrictions and a fire ban remain in place. Fines are now being handed out for non-compliance.
More details on the progress of repairs should come in a 2 p.m. update from the Emergency Operations Centre.