No timeline for Calgary water main fix; boil water advisory in place for some areas

urban center of Calgary officials say they feature identified the location of what they ar calling a indorse “ ruinous” water main break in the northwest in less than two years, but they do not have a timeline as to when it might be fixed. 

Catastrophic is the most severe categorization of incidents, according to the city's risk assessment.

Firefighters and police responded Tuesday evening to significant flooding beneath the CPKC rail bridge near 69th Street N.W.

Thirteen people had to be rescued from eight vehicles that got caught in the torrent of water.

Major water main break in northwest Calgary

Josh Podulsky was one of those rescued. He was driving along 16th Avenue when he said the road "exploded."

He described seeing a massive water spout, and within seconds water levels began rapidly rising around him.

"It was pretty freaky," he said.

He was stranded for about an hour inside his vehicle before being lifted out by firefighters. Podulsky said he decided to stay put in his car after watching two people exit their vehicle and nearly get swept away.

"[My] car's done, I think. It's totalled, because the water was going over the windshield," Podulsky said.

The break on the Bearspaw south feeder main — the same source of the break in 2024 — happened around 8 p.m. Tuesday along 16th Avenue, east of its interchange with Sarcee Trail. 

This break involved a section of pipe installed in 1975, and not the replacement pipe received from San Diego to repair the last break, the city said in an update Wednesday.

It happened due to a “rapid drop in pressure,” said Nancy Mackay, the city’s director of water services.

Water has now been shut off in the affected area.

Early Wednesday morning, the city issued boil water advisories for parts of Parkdale, Montgomery and Point McKay. Water wagons will be deployed to those communities.

Water remains safe to drink in the remainder of the city, said Susan Henry, chief of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency. 

Stage 4 water restrictions are in place, which prohibits outdoor water use for things like flooding rinks or snow-making.

Calgarians are being asked to reduce their water usage by limiting showers to three minutes or less, flushing toilets only when necessary, and waiting to run dishwashers and washing machines until they are full.

Since the 2024 break, the Bearspaw south feeder main has been continuously monitored, but there were no warning signs before this latest break, the city says.

“The system was working normally at the time of the failure,” said Chris Graham with the city’s infrastructure department, who added there were no indications of any wire snaps, as was the case with the previous break. 

City officials said it was too early to speak to the levels of chloride in the area at the time. Sodium chloride, a form of road salt, is believed to have played a factor in the 2024 break. 

The early identification of the location of the break does, however, put the city "days ahead of what happened the previous time around,” Mayor Jeromy Farkas said. 

Calgary officials asked what to expect in coming weeks after water main break

Mackay said the pipe will need to be drained before digging can begin and the broken section replaced. Then the water will need to be refilled and tested to ensure its safety before the boil water advisory can be lifted. 

She gave a timeline of seven to 10 days if there is only one repair to be made, but cautioned the city still needs to fully inspect the severity of the break.  

“We go fast, but we don't go so fast that we're not protecting water quality,” Mackay said. 

She said emergency adjustments have been made to distribute more water throughout the city from the Glenmore Water Treatment Plant, the smaller of Calgary's two plants — something she says was a lesson learned from the last go around.

Farkas said about 2,000 homes and 100 businesses have been affected.

While he acknowledged the frustrations, he said there are overarching issues that need to be addressed — chiefly installing a replacement line parallel to the current main. 

“Until we completely replace the pipe, this is a ticking time bomb that Calgarians will continue to live with,” Farkas said at Wednesday’s media availability. 

Farkas said he’s expecting the recommendations of an independent review of the 2024 water main break to be released in the coming weeks. 

He said council is committed to implementing those recommendations so that a third major break does not happen. 

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