Calgary’s feeder main repairs that have forced the city back into strict outdoor water restrictions are expected to be completed this weekend.
In an update Thursday, Mayor Jyoti Gondek said work on the pipe has progressed quicker than expected, which will allow crews to finish construction earlier. Stage 4 water restrictions are now expected to be lifted by Sept. 22.
“This is great news for everyone who has been following the maintenance and repair work,” said Gondek. “I would like to thank and congratulate all the crews and teams that have been working tirelessly to help secure the safety of our water system.”
Calgarians will be asked to keep conserving waters for 10 more days to allow crews to pour concrete and backfill the repair sites, and then allow the filling of the pipe, monitoring of flow, and water testing to ensure safe drinking water.
“We have to watch for a couple of things,” cautioned Gondek. “First, the rain may impact the backfilling and the paving work.”
“And second, the gradual increase of water flow in the pipe is something that the water team will need to monitor carefully.”
Stage 4 water restrictions were reintroduced on Aug. 26 to make way for necessary repairs to the Bearspaw South Feeder Main. The city initially said they expected repairs to be complete by Sep. 23.
Once the work on the pipe is complete and safe water is moving through the system again, the city will await the result of a third-party independent review on what caused the initial major rupture to the feeder main in early June.
Gondek says the city’s own internal forensic report is also expected to be done by the end of October.
“Both of those reviews will provide all of us with the transparency and clarity on what happened, why it happened, and how we can ensure that it does not happened again,” said Gondek.
“Once I have all of that information, I will be advocating to the federal and provincial governments for more infrastructure funding.”
This is a developing story. More to come.