High Consumption of Water Prompts Warning Amid Feeder Main Repairs

Calgary City officials are urging residents to conserve more water amid repairs to the Bearspaw feeder main, or else the city will run out.

Residents have been asked to reduce indoor water use to allow officials prepare for shutting down the feeder main and begin urgent repairs that will continue through to late September. “We have adjusted the water flow in the system to maintain our supply, but we still need your help to lower demand”, said City officials in a news release.

According to the release, during the first day of Stage 4 Outdoor Water Restrictions, water use was 553 million litre, a 75 million litre drop in water use from Sunday. However, the target is 450 million litres, which is the limit the water system can “sustainably supply while the Bearspaw South Feeder Main is out of service.”

City officials says Calgarians need to further reduce water usage as repairs need to be completed to avoid the risk of another feeder main damage. “If another failure happened during winter, we would not have the water supply available to refill our underground storage reservoirs due to low river flows after September.”

If residents continue to use more than 450 million litres of water per day, the city runs the risk of running out of drinking water, says the release.

Under the new restrictions, Calgarians are expected to limit showers to 3 minutes or less; run laundry and dishwashers only and only flush toilets when necessary.

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