City officials in Calgary are expressing concern as they have not observed a significant decrease in water consumption following a major water main break earlier this week. Mayor Jeromy Farkas highlighted the ongoing strain on the water system, emphasizing the urgent need for conservation measures.
The city typically maintains a daily underground water storage of around 600 million litres, which decreased to 459 million litres post the Bearspaw south feeder main rupture. While there has been a slight recovery in stored water levels, officials stress the importance of further conservation efforts to prevent supply depletion in case of future incidents.
Calgarians have been urged to minimize water usage by taking shorter showers, reducing toilet flushes, and running dishwashers and washing machines only when full. Even saving a minute during a shower could conserve six to eight litres of water, according to Chris Huston, the city’s drinking water distribution system manager.
Efforts to repair the damaged section of the pipe are underway with a target completion timeline of two weeks from the incident. Businesses have also been called upon to reduce water usage, such as refilling water glasses only upon request.
Despite plans to accelerate the replacement of the Bearspaw south feeder main, city officials acknowledge the uncertainty of preventing future breaks. An acoustic fibre optic monitoring system was implemented to detect wire snaps indicating potential pipe failures, but no such signals were detected before the recent incident.
With parts of the city still under a boil water advisory, authorities stress the critical need for water conservation measures to alleviate pressure on the strained system. Mayor Farkas emphasized the necessity of developing alternative infrastructure to address the aging and deteriorating water main issues in Calgary.