City crews are moving into the final stages of trying to secure Calgary’s water main crisis.Effective tomorrow, 16. Ave. through Bowness and Montgomery straight on to Banff will be free and clear. After a month of number-to-bumper commutes in the northwest, that will be traffic heaven for motorists heading home or out of town for the long weekend.And if they feel the Earth rumbling beneath them, that’ll be signs that the water main feeder will be refilling with H2O as it’s brought back up to pressure. Even cyclists in Edworthy Park will feel — and see it — as millions of litres of that water is recycled and flushed into the Bow River.It’s the final steps before the pumps at the Bear’s Paw water treatment plant can be full opened to stabilize the entire system, city officials said in its daily update on Thursday. From there — if things go well — they can begin easing water restrictions possibly as early as Monday.Until then Mayor Jyoti Gondek said it’s important for residents to continue to be vigilant about their water use..“With the above ground complete for now we have crews working hard on focusing on what we need to do below the surface,” Mayor Jyoti Gondek told the briefing. “So some of the most important stuff that's happening is not visual, we can't see the work that's being done in the pipe underground.”The section of 16th up to 46th Street has already been reopened. Paving on the remaining segment to Home Road had to be halted last night due to rain. But it’s basically just the last six centimetres of blacktop that needs to be filled and surfaced, said infrastructure manager Michael Thompson.That will be complete early tomorrow.Some have questioned why the road would be filled and surfaced prior to being tested for structural integrity, but Thompson said it’s necessary to stabilize the pipe sections so they don’t move before being filled.The pace of that filling and flushing will determine when restrictions can be lifted. The earliest indoor restrictions could start coming off on Monday. It’s less clear when outdoor restrictions — including swimming pools and recreation centres — will be dropped but Emergency Management Chief Sue Henry said at this point there are no plans to cancel outdoor activities like swimming lessons.“For those of you wondering about swimming lessons or other aquatic programs starting on Tuesday, July 2, please be advised that they are not cancelled. We may need to adjust the start date if we are unable to restore water service at that time. And if the start date to your registered program is delayed, you will be notified by email,” she said.Ditto for day camps and other activities for the kids now that school is out.“Until we restore water service swimming activities at day camps will be replaced with other fun activities to keep the campers active, entertained and smiling. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate this challenging situation.”
