Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said that despite the South Bearspaw water feeder main being back in service, and having been reintroduced back into the city's distribution system, officials said they are not at a point where a decision can be made to lift the outdoor watering ban or the city's fire ban.
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said that despite the South Bearspaw water feeder main being back in service, and having been reintroduced back into the city's distribution system, officials said they are not at a point where a decision can be made to lift the outdoor watering ban or the city's fire ban. (Graphic credit to The City of Calgary) Mayor Gondek said that on Tuesday, officials will have a better idea for a timeline as to when indoor voluntary water conservation may be eased, as well as a better understanding of when the outdoor water ban may also ease. However, city officials noted that it is unlikely that water restrictions will be done away with all at once; there will likely be a phased approach.
"Please remember that while this is the final step in restoring our water system, it is also the one that holds the greatest amount of risk. If we start things up too quickly; if we introduce too much pressure or too much water into the system, we stand the chance of failure, and that's not something we want to do as we are in this final stage," Mayor Gondek noted on Canada Day.
General Manager of Infrastructure Services with the City of Calgary, Michael Thompson added since yesterday, when the water feeder main was reconnected to the rest of the system, crews have been slowly increasing the amount of water flowing from the Bearspaw Water Treatment plant through the feeder main and into the rest of the network.
"Right now, the feeder main is carrying about half of its maximum capacity. This gradual approach is because this is the highest risk step of the process to restore water service. We've been using acoustic and pressure monitors to closely watch system performance, and so far, we have not heard any indications of further issues with the feeder main as we work to reconfigure the water system to the original water flow."
Thompson said that while everything is moving in a positive direction, water conservation measures should still be followed.
"We have experienced some turbidity issues since last night, which has created cloudy tap water for some Calgarians. While this water is safe to drink, the turbidity is not unexpected. We want to continue to look at the performance of our system through today and overnight tonight."
Thompson echoed the Mayor's statement, saying that on Tuesday there will be a better understanding of how to proceed with doing away with water restrictions.
"We will focus on easing indoor water-saving measures first. After we ease indoor water-saving measures, we will need to let the system stabilize more before we announce any changes to our outdoor water restrictions."
In its Monday update, Airdrie city officials stated that The Genesis Place pool and aquatics facilities remain closed on Tuesday, July 2.
"We will share an update on July 2," officials added.
Calgary remains under a fire ban, while Airdrie has downgraded to a fire advisory. However, level four water restrictions remain in place for both Airdrie, Calgary and other surrounding communities.
Fireworks to celebrate Canada Day are slated to go ahead in both cities.
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Fri, Jul 5, 1:55 PM
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