The end is almost in sight for Calgary’s water main woes that have been going on for the better part of a month. In her regular update, Mayor Jyoti Gondek on Tuesday confirmed that the final sections of steel replacement pipe are complete, the cemented section is curing and crews will begin backfilling the exposed roadway in Bowness and Montgomery later today.Although the repairs appear to be moving at great speed — or at least quicker than initially expected — Calgarians will still have to put up with water restrictions for the time being..That’s because underground reservoirs have to be refilled, the water main brought back up to pressure and then tested before the water quality can be verified by Alberta Health Services (AHS) to make sure it’s safe for drinking.Updated timelines will be available at the regular media briefing this afternoon which are sure to be well ahead of next month’s Stampede. But it also means no swimming pools or car washes until then.“We're not quite finished yet. There will be time needed to flush the pipe then to fill the pipe test water quality and adjust from partial pressure to regular pressure. This will take several days,” Gondek said.“We can gradually lift indoor and outdoor restrictions as well as the fire ban, but we still need some more days.“In the meantime, water usage is a gradually creeping up with temperatures, to the danger level of around 500 million litres. The city consumed about 476 million litres yesterday, which puts supplies for critical emergencies or fires at risk.A condo fire in Mackenzie Town on Monday displaced more than a dozen residents and used up nearly 3 million litres to extinguish.“Now is not the time to give up on our water saving practices,” Gondek said. “Now is not the time to fire up the sprinklers or get your car washed we are not out of the woods yet.”
