Calgary Mayor Optimistic Water Repairs can be Finished by Canada Day

June 27, 2024 TruthUSA

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek says residents may soon be able to throw off water restrictions that have been in place since a water main burst on June 5.

Ms. Gondek said if everything goes as planned the repairs on the water structure could be wrapped up by July 1.

“There’s still a number of steps that we have to complete before we can return to regular water use,” she said in a video posted on the city’s Facebook page.

“If all goes well, we could go back to regular water service by the first of July.”

The news comes after weeks of water restrictions on residents and businesses. Calgary declared a state of local emergency on June 15 to deal with the ongoing issue. Outdoor water use has been banned and outdoor fires are prohibited, swimming pools have closed down, and residents have been asked to conserve water inside their homes.

Although the initial break of the large feeder pipe has been repaired, five more “hot spots” were discovered. The city also had to wait for parts to be sent from the United States.

Mayor Gondek appealed to residents to continue restricting water usage, saying usage has gone up over the past few days.

“We’ve seen a very steady and concerning trend of water usage creeping up in the last few days. Yesterday we used 473 million litres of water and it was another day of very high water use,” she said, adding that a safe zone was 450 million litres.

“Water conservation is needed so we don’t put too much stress on the water system while it’s being prepared to return to service,” Ms. Gondek said. “Some of you seem to be done with efforts to save water and I understand how frustrating it is and how long this has been, but we need to keep doing work.”

The mayor also told residents that 16 Avenue would be opening up on June 28 as paving had been largely completed.

“It’s missing about two inches off the top of the pavement but it is in good enough shape to open 16th Avenue back up again tomorrow,” she said. “So you will be able to use that roadway but please be prepared for a few bumps; we’re missing a little bit of pavement.”

Crews are expected to start flushing water from pipes and testing it before the work is completed.

“We’re about a week away from being in a place to gradually ease up on the water-saving measures that we’ve been asking you to take indoors. We are in the homestretch but our eyes are wide open that anything could change at any moment.”

Repairs had been forecasted to be completed before the July 5 start of the Calgary Stampede.

Doug Lett contributed to this article.

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