Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek’s Tuesday morning update on the ongoing water situation has been delayed for a second time, as crews work to stabilize the new section of the Bearspaw South Feedermain.
The city said on Monday that the next morning’s press conference, which has been held daily at 8:30 a.m. by Gondek and company since the early days of the break, would be pushed back two hours to 10:30 a.m.
The mayor said this was because the city wanted to get all the information it could from overnight monitoring of the system before it discussed the next steps in reducing water restrictions.
A little over an hour before that press conference was scheduled to start, the city said the announcement was moved to 12:15 p.m. from Calgary’s Emergency Operations Centre.
No reason was given for the second delay.
READ MORE: Calgary’s Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant, feedermain, reconnected to water network
Gondek will be joined by Calgary Emergency Management (CEMA) Chief Sue Henry, City of Calgary General Manager of Infrastructure Services Michael Thompson, and City of Calgary Capital Priorities and Investment Director Francois Bouchart.
The Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant was reconnected to Calgary’s water network over the weekend and since then, crews have been slowly increasing the amount of water flowing from the plant through the feedermain to the rest of the network, according to the city.
As of Monday, the pipe was carrying about half of its maximum capacity.
This is the last step before water flow normalizes, officials say, and presents the greatest risk of leaks and breaks.
The city continues to ask Calgarians to limit their indoor water use during the process, and says outdoor water restrictions and a fire ban are still in place. Fines are being handed out for non-compliance.
-With files from Alejandro Melgar