Calgary mayor warns daily usage way too high as end looms for water restrictions

Calgary’s mayor says residents have blown past the daily threshold the city has set to keep water service going amid a conservation crisis.

Jyoti Gondek says Calgarians used 500 million litres of water on Thursday.

It is 20 million litres more than the daily limit the city says is needed to ensure enough water is available for firefighting and health-care services.

It is also the highest amount reported since the city imposed a mix of voluntary and mandatory water restrictions following a water main rupture on June 5.

Gondek says Calgarians need to keep reducing their water use by 25 per cent to prevent reserves from running dry.

The ruptured pipe, which supplies 60 per cent of the city’s water, has been replaced and if testing goes well, water restrictions are to be lifted as early as Monday.

2:06 Timeline for reopening Calgary pools not clear