Calgary officials to provide update on critical water main break

Calgary emergency officials will provide an update on the critical water main break affecting city-wide water usage on Saturday morning.

The public is expected to hear from Mayor Jyoti Gondek along with Calgary Emergency Management Agency chief Sue Henry and director of capital priorities and investments Francois Bouchart.

The update comes two days after the city lifted the local state of emergency that had been in place for more than three weeks.

In a news conference on Thursday afternoon, Henry said the city no longer required additional coordination to navigate the complex challenges the water main break posed.

Still, the Municipal Emergency Plan remains in effect and the City of Calgary’s Emergency Operations Centre is still open.

“I want to stress that the lifting of the state of local emergency does not mean things are back to normal. The feeder main is still not operating at full capacity and stage 4 water restrictions are still in place,” Henry told reporters Thursday.

“We are, unfortunately, still not at a place to relax those restrictions and move to stage 3. This will be a phased approach and I promise we will do so as soon as we can.”

The state of local emergency was first announced on June 15, 10 days after a “catastrophic” water main break triggered a water supply alert in Calgary, Chestermere, Airdrie and Strathmore as well as a boil water advisory for residents in Bowness.

Gondek and emergency officials have been asking Calgarians to reduce their water usage for weeks, along with dire warnings that taps may run dry if usage isn’t significantly reduced.

Gondek told Calgarians on Tuesday that they can “ease” into normal indoor water consumption because the Bearspaw feeder main that was damaged is now operating at 50 per cent.

The Glenmore Water Treatment Plant has also undergone maintenance and this process is expected to conclude by Friday.

“You have done such a great job in easing your indoor water usage in a safe manner,” Gondek said. “We have been monitoring your indoor water usage and you have been amazing water stewards.”

Saturday’s update will start at 10:30 a.m. MT. It will be livestreamed here.

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