Calgarians reduce daily water use as Farkas encourages continued conservation

Calgary's daily water usage has returned to a stable level following Tuesday's break in the Bearspaw South Feeder Main, but Mayor Jeromy Farkas told Calgarians on Friday that work remains. "THANK-YOU, CALGARY! We stepped up to conserve water, and it made a real difference," wrote Farkas in an X post. "We’re now back in the sustainable zone—but we’re not out of the woods yet. Please keep conserving as crews continue their work."The city used 589 million litres of water on Tuesday, compared with the average over the previous month, which hovered around 500 million litres, which the City already classifies as "unsustainable."Following the restrictions being issued, use dropped to 473 million litres, which is well within the "sustainable" range, which the City of Calgary says begins at 485 million litres..Parts of Calgary are under a boil-water advisory, and a Stage 4 water restriction remains in place for the rest of the city and select suburbs after Wednesday's break caused a significant loss of water reserves.Calgarians have been asked to make concerted efforts to conserve water, including limiting showers to 3 minutes, flushing the toilet only when necessary, and running whole, not partial, loads of dishes or laundry."Thank-you, Calgary! These small actions make a big difference," Farkas posted on Thursday.As of Friday, workers are draining the remaining water out of the affected pipe. .Road work has closed 16 Ave. N.W., east of Sarcee Trail, as workers attempt to cleanup the damage caused by the break, including the ruptured road where it happened.Farkas visited a construction site along 16 Ave. on Thursday and gave Calgarians a glimpse of what workers are dealing with..This is the second time in under two years that a major break on the Bearspaw feeder main has disrupted the city's water supply."We are much more prepared this time around, but you can rest assured, none of my council colleagues ran on being satisfied with the status quo," Farkas said on Wednesday."The status quo is not acceptable for any of us. It's not acceptable for administration, and it's certainly not acceptable to the public, and we're taking immediate action."A review of the Bearspaw feeder main was issued following the initial break in June 2024, and that report been completed, but a final draft has yet to be presented. In light of the most recent break, however, the City Council is pressuring officials to expedite the process."Myself, other Council members and the Mayor met with CAO Duckworth yesterday afternoon at the Emergency Operations Centre, and requested the report and threatened a special meeting if we did not receive it. We still have not received the report," wrote Ward 1 Councillor Kim Tyers on Thursday.According to Tyers, that report is expected to be provided to Council members before Jan. 8..Calgary's city council has acknowledged that the pipe needs to be replaced."We have to fix the pipe, and until we completely replace the pipe, this is a ticking time bomb that Calgarians will continue to live with," Farkas said.In December, the council moved to advance with a project to build a new line, but Farkas has said the construction will take time.