Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek spoke candidly to reporters Sunday morning about the city’s ongoing repair work on a branch main line rupture after touring the Bowness Community Association and local businesses.
Ahead of a 4 p.m. news conference on the water emergency, Gondek said officials need to do a better job of providing updates in plain language and outlining exactly what the situation means for Calgarians.
“There are still people who think it's a joke. There are people who think it's a conspiracy theory. But it's not,” she said.
“If we don't conserve water, we're going to have a water shortage — not because there's no water at the treatment plant. We can't get water from there to the reservoir until we fix this piece of infrastructure.”
Concerns about water supplies were first raised Wednesday evening when a large tributary line broke in the northwest Calgary community of Montgomery, prompting a boil water advisory for Bowness residents.
The warning remains in place, with water supply alerts remaining in effect for Airdrie, Strathmore and Chestermere.
Water tankers were set up across Bowness to provide assistance to residents.
Residents living elsewhere in the City of Calgary are not required to boil water, but are still asked to conserve water.
Officials described the ruptured branch trunk line, which carries water from the Bellsbow Water Treatment Plant, as a “critical” water pipeline.
The loss “severely impacted” Calgary's water supply and the city's ability to deliver water.
The city's Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant normally distributes 500 megalitres of water a day, but is currently distributing 130 megalitres, the council said.
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On Sunday, Gondek said repairing the broken feeder main line on Northwest 16th Avenue was no easy task.
“A lot of people say 'the pipes always break but they get fixed quickly',” she said.
“That’s the difference between a pizza-sized water main and a (feeder) main that a truck can fit through.”
She said the area was flooded on Wednesday when a water main broke, and crews then had to pump water away from the site to access the pipes, assess the damage and develop a repair plan.
The plan involves cutting out the broken section, hoisting a steel replacement and welding it to the existing concrete pipe, which Gondek noted carries water to 23 reservoirs covering about 60 percent of the city.
“Next … we need to flush it, remove all the debris and make sure it's safe to deliver water in the pipes,” she said.
“That's why this will take at least five to seven days. This is a very big repair job because this infrastructure is so big and this feeder arterial road is a main road.”
Currently, the city relies on water from the South Glenmore Treatment Plant, which also supplies another 40 percent of the city, Gondek said.
She said once the reservoir that Bearspaw normally fills with water is empty, it can't be refilled because the water main is broken.
“That’s why we might be out of water,” Gondek said.
“That’s why the situation is so critical and we have critical backup plans in place.”
Calgarians are being asked to stop using water outdoors and to minimize water use indoors. City staff are advising people to take shorter showers, take “fewer flushes,” and put off doing laundry.
Gunderke said Calgarians have been complying with the city's orders. On Wednesday, the city consumed about 650 million litres of water. She believes only 440 million litres were consumed on Saturday.
She noted that the average Calgarian consumes about 173 litres of water per day, the equivalent of two full bathtubs.
The city has also been fielding questions about infrastructure maintenance following Wednesday’s shuttle outage.
Mr. Gondek said city staff regularly conduct on-site inspections of the valve chambers, and special sensors on the pipes also alert staff in advance if the pipes are under pressure.
According to Gondek, the water main was expected to last 100 years. The city recently reached its 50-year lifespan. She said the city has invested $300 million in water infrastructure maintenance over the past six years.
She said other critical pipelines and feeder trunks were in “good or very good condition.”
“The infrastructure was also confirmed to be in good condition,” Gondek said.
When asked by reporters whether communication with the public has improved, Gondek cited the 2013 flood as an example, acknowledging that communication was much better then.
She said they are already working on improving the way the city releases the latest information.
“Can I tell you exactly what went wrong? No,” she said.
“Can I tell you that things are getting better? Of course, it starts today.”
Gunderke is expected to speak to reporters at 8:30 a.m. every day except Sunday until the situation is resolved. Emergency officials will also provide updates at 2 p.m. each day.
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