Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek says repairs on a water main have progressed enough to allow the city to lift the restrictions on indoor water use.
Calgary has been under a state of emergency for several weeks after a June 5 water main break led to crews finding five more “hot spots” that needed urgent attention. The city banned outdoor water use June 15, closed swimming pools, and asked residents to conserve water inside their homes.
She said progress on repairs continues to move forward.
“Turbidity levels are coming down and they’re trending in the right direction. Next, with production safely increasing at the Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant, we’re able to perform some critical maintenance that’s needed at the Glenmore water treatment plant,” she said, adding that the Bearspaw main has been brought up to 50 percent capacity and crews continue to monitor the system for “irregularities.”
Infrastructure Services General Manager Michael Thompson said indoor pools and car washes would also open as of July 2, but he cautioned residents to take it slow.
“We know this is an exciting milestone after almost a month of Calgarians practising water conservation measures in their homes and businesses,” he said during the press conference. “Just as we are easing into lifting restrictions we need Calgarians to ease into their water use within their homes.”
Residents need to spread out indoor water use, such as doing one load of laundry a day rather than all the laundry in a single day, Mr. Thompson said.
“The system is responding well so far, and we have not heard any anomalies,” he said, adding that outdoor water restrictions remain in place for the time being.
Ms. Gondek was joined by provincial Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver during the morning update. They said they had been working together over the past several weeks to address the water problem.
“Our emergency management cabinet connected regularly with the mayor and her team,” Mr. McIver said. “These levels of communication were pivotal in addressing the immediate needs of community communication, support, and advice.”
He thanked Calgary residents and regional neighbours for their patience and support.
“Your understanding has been indispensable,“ he said. ”Together, and only together, we have demonstrated that in the face of adversity, collaboration and determination can overcome any obstacle.”
Ms. Gondek also praised residents for their efforts to save water.
Review Planned
Ms. Gondek said the city has learned from mistakes made over the past few weeks, including a lack of communication at the beginning of the crisis, all of which will be investigated in an external review. The review will be conducted to keep residents and government officials informed about what went wrong.“I called for a comprehensive third party review of the incident, which I expect to cover exactly what happened to the pipe,” she said. “This review will also look at our issues around communication that led to Calgarians, and our neighbouring communities, not getting the information they needed quickly when they needed it.”
