The City of Calgary says they have found more problems with a major water main break and it may take up to five weeks to fix it.A major water main break last week incured major water and traffic problems and now there's no end in sight to the end of restrictions — which puts the Calgary Stampede into play as it kicks off July 5."Following further investigation of our water feedermain, significant additional damage has been found and other sections of the pipe now also need to be repaired. This will result in a lengthier delay in returning Calgarians to normal water service than was anticipated, as with the extensive damage repairs are now estimated to take an additional three to five weeks to complete," said Calgary Emergency Management Agency Chief Sue Henry."The city is looking at strategies to do these repairs simultaneously and are exploring everything we can possibly do to do this faster and we hope to revise this timeline. The repair is the city’s top priority and speed is of the essence, however we are balancing that with the availability of resources materials, and the safety of our teams."The city has decided to fix the locations of concern along the line while the pipe is bare and dry. Fixing the initially identified problem without addressing these other trouble spots carries a high risk of another major rupture and potential impacts to public safety, it said.“This is not the news we were hoping to share, but we are sharing the situation as transparently as possible with you,” said Henry. “Based on what we are hearing and the information we have now, this is the best decision in an unexpected and difficult situation. What I can tell you is the round-the-clock work from our teams, thorough inspections in very complex conditions, and the options to move forward… these were not casually done, and this decision was not made lightly. Calgary's water infrastructure is industry-leading and it's only because of the incredible and skilled work of our water operators managing our water so carefully that we continue to have enough water,” said Henry.
