Calgary official says Bow River to be opened at two sites to provide water for construction companies

Calgary Emergency Management Agency Acting Chief Coby Duerr said the City of Calgary will be working with construction companies to open two locations on the Bow River to provide unpottable water to them. Duerr said this water will be free of charge and fall on construction companies to ensure it is appropriate for its intended applications. “We want to thank the provincial government for expediting the permits needed to help move this program forward quickly,” said Duerr at a Wednesday press conference. “We will have more firm details including locations and timing in the days coming.” Duerr confirmed city crews have been harassed, called names, and filmed and photographed while doing repair work. While people have bothered crews, he said this behaviour is unacceptable. People have harassed crews when they flush water from pipes. Although this might appear to be a waste of water and evoke an emotional response, he said these practices are required to meet regulatory standards for water quality, public health and safety, and distribution system maintenance. Flushing occurs to restore water service after a main break, repairs, and water quality investigations. He pointed out crews “are doing their best to ensure that they use as little water as necessary to complete this important work.” He said harassing crews while they do this work will not be tolerated. If people have questions or concerns, he encouraged them to call 311 rather than approach them or make negative assumptions. Duerr concluded by saying people should do whatever they can to reduce water consumption. He said they should make every drop count. Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek started off the press conference by saying the final pieces of pipe from San Diego have enabled crews to fix the water feeder main as soon as possible. “All five hotspots have been excavated, and cutting of existing pipe has begun,” said Gondek. “There are three hotspots where we had existing parts in supply and now that the two additional pieces from down south have arrived, those two remaining pieces are being sandblasted and coated with epoxy before they’re able to be lifted into the ground.” Gondek said many other needed parts are being fabricated locally. While the City of Calgary is sourcing parts locally, she said all work on it is being done by city workers and contracting crews. City of Calgary General Manager, Infrastructure Services Michael Thompson said these two pieces have arrived at a fabrication site and are being prepared for installation. “Preparation work includes sandblasting and applying the epoxy coating,” said Thompson. “We sourced this pipe from the San Diego Water Authority as they are part of the same municipal network that we use to share critical water infrastructure parts.” Without the support of multiple levels of government, Thompson said this transportation would have been impossible. He added this pipe met all of the technical specifications required. The City of Calgary said on Sunday help was on the way amid its water problems. READ MORE: San Diego water agency gives Calgary part of feeder main pipeIt confirmed the San Diego County Water Authority helped it to source a piece of feeder main pipe. “It is currently being transported from San Diego to Calgary and will be arriving this week,” it said.