Calgary lifting all water restrictions effective immediately after troubled water main is patched up

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As the news conference wraps up, here’s an indication of how pessimistic Calgary is that the pipe will break again after doing so twice within 18 months: Crews and gear will be on standby from now until the feeder main is fully replaced, ready to respond to another failure at any point, infrastructure service general manager Michael Thompson said.

The city has equipment in the field; pumps ready to go to bail out a burst; and steel pipes, adapters and equipment ready to patch another breakage.

Farkas has called the pipeline “sick” and a “ticking time bomb” — and he wants it replaced within a year.

That’s in line with the recommendation from the independent review panel, which recommended accelerating construction of the steel pipe replacement within 12 to 14 months. Previously, the city’s timeline was to have the project completed by 2028.

“For the next 365 days, this has to be our civic mission,” said Farkas.

Farkas compared it to other feats the city has achieved in the past under tight timelines, like preparing for the 1988 Olympics in five years, and building the Saddledome in about two.

Despite the mayor’s seriousness about the task ahead, he was also celebratory, pointing to what awaited him on the news conference lectern, instead of a glass of city tap water.

“I’m not sure why I have this bottle of water,” he quipped. “I don’t need it anymore.”

Mayor Jeromy Farkas celebrated the milestone and the end of water restrictions, but after a series of thank-yous he said, “tomorrow is straight back to work.”

He warned that today is “not a victory lap” and tomorrow the effort to replace the patched-up Bearspaw feeder main must resume.

And fast.

“We need to do what would normally take four years in one.”

He called it Calgary’s “moon shot” that will consume much of city hall’s energy.

The city says it was able to lift restrictions because the Bearspaw south feeder main is now back in service. The final pump was turned on Friday morning, and city officials say the system is stable.

The feeder main supplies about 60 per cent of the city’s drinking water.

“Although today’s news is good news, we cannot guarantee this pipe will not break again,” said Henry, the Emergency Management Agency chief.

The city says crews will continue to closely monitor the pipe, and they are ready should there be another rupture.

Extra first responders will be relieved from monitoring for breakages, but the flood-style berms protecting homes and businesses nearby the pipe will remain in place, emergency chief Sue Henry said.

Some of the partial 16th Avenue road closures will remain, though regular traffic flow is mostly restored.

City arenas and aquatic centres can return to normal operations. Steam rooms and hot tubs can reopen.

Sue Henry, the city’s emergency chief, just gave Calgary the good news many were waiting for.

“We are now able to lift all water restrictions effective immediately,” she told the briefing.

“At the end of the day today, the municipal emergency plan will be deactivated, and the emergency operations centre will close.”

Although the 18-day crisis is now over, the city will still be closely monitoring the struggling Bearspaw feeder main for future weaknesses.

City officials have begun today’s update on restoring the broken water main, as we wait to hear if water restrictions will be lifted.

You can watch that live above.

Mayor Jeromy Farkas, Calgary Emergency Management Agency chief Sue Henry and Infrastructure Services general manager Michael Thompson will speak and take questions.

I'm in Bowness and Montgomery neighbourhoods today to speak with people about what life has been like for the past two-and-a-half weeks. This is right in the affected zone, with the pipe rupture just blocks away. Thousands in the area were also under a boil-water advisory for nearly a week.

I spoke with one business in the area that’s seen numerous cancellations this month. Nick Yoo, manager of MaisonGlow Spa & Wellness, blames the snarled traffic along Bowness Road.

“They see that they’re going to be 15 minutes late because of the blockage and also because they are aware of the water break in the area … so they just cancel. And that’s really been putting a toll on our business,” said Yoo.

He said he hopes the city will announce the full re-opening of 16th Avenue N.W. And the end of water restrictions.

The easing of water restrictions could come as soon as today.

We can expect an announcement at this afternoon’s briefing from Calgary’s emergency management centre, according to a source familiar with the water situation.

On Thursday, Calgary officials said they were only one step away from restoring the troubled Bearspaw feeder main to full service, after successfully turning the system back on yesterday.

But the city has also cautioned that the end of restrictions could be gradual, as the city doesn’t want to overstress the concrete sections of the troubled pipe.

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