Update January 1: Major water main break

Описание: The City of Calgary continues to repair a large water main break in the Bowness and Montgomery area. The city remains under Stage 4 Water Restrictions.

“Thank you for your patience and for working with us as we manage this challenge together. This break caused a significant loss of water in our system and we need your help to restore balance. Reducing water use right now is critical,” said Calgary Emergency Management Agency Chief Susan Henry.

“This is not how anyone wanted to start the new year,” said Chief Henry, “We understand the disruption this has caused to daily routines, businesses and families, and we appreciate the patience and cooperation Calgarians have shown as we work through this challenge together.”

WATER RESTRICTIONS AND BOIL ADVISORY

Water conservation remains essential as The City works to restore system stability. The water system is currently under strain, with treated water storage levels below what is required for reliable operations and emergency backup.

As of this morning, treated water storage stands at approximately 496 million litres. This is below the 600 million litres needed to stabilize the system. Over the past 24 hours, the system experienced a net loss of approximately 100 million litres, placing Calgary in the Red Zone, where water treatment plants are operating at full capacity with no system redundancy.

We are urging residents to immediately reduce water use by taking the following actions:

Limit showers to three minutes or less
Flush toilets only when necessary
Run dishwashers and laundry only when full

The City continues to work closely with its largest water users to reduce consumption and is asking businesses to limit non-essential water use.

A Boil Water Advisory for portions of Parkdale, Montgomery Point McKay and West Hillhurst neighbourhoods remains in place. Residents can find information on water wagons and an updated map of the impacted area on calgary.ca.

All residents and businesses within this area are advised to bring tap water to a rolling boil for one full minute prior to any consumption, including:

drinking
brushing teeth
cleaning raw foods
preparing infant formula or juices
making ice, etc.
For more information on Boil Water Advisories and using water safely when an advisory is in place, resources for homeowners and businesses is available here: https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/...

We will continue to provide updates daily. You can get the latest news, water saving tips, and much more at calgary.ca

CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIRS

Crews continue to make steady progress at the break site along 16 Avenue N.W.

Overnight, crews successfully pumped out water surrounding the break, allowing repairs to proceed safely. The damaged section of pipe is now fully exposed, and excavation is continuing to provide full access for repairs. A camera inspection inside the pipe is underway to gather detailed information about the extent and cause of the damage.

“We can see the results of the failure, but now we need to understand why it happened,” said Michael Thompson, General Manager of Infrastructure Services. “That information will directly inform how we manage the rest of the feeder main moving forward.”

The Bearspaw South Feeder Main has been operating with known areas of deterioration. Following inspections in 2024, The City completed 23 urgent pipe repairs and installed a real-time acoustic fibre optic monitoring system to detect wire breaks. While the system was functioning normally at the time of the December 30 break, this incident has prompted a reassessment of risk tolerance.

Crews are also installing temporary distribution bypasses to help redistribute water, refill storage and stabilize supply. At the same time, all other known pipe locations are being reviewed, priority sites are being flagged, and repair timelines are being developed.

In parallel, The City continues to advance major infrastructure projects to improve long-term reliability, including:

Bearspaw South Feeder Main Improvements Project, which will replace the existing pipe north of the Shaganappi Pump Station with a new steel feeder main
North Calgary Water Servicing Project, a 22-kilometre feeder main currently under construction
Planning for the South Calgary Water Servicing Project, a future 25-kilometre feeder main to increase system capacity and resiliency

ROADS AND MOBILITY

16th Avenue N.W. at Sarcee Trail remains closed in both directions and motorists are asked to avoid the area. The latest road detour information is available at https://www.calgary.ca/roads/conditio...

The City is working to minimize disruption and will provide advance notice of any changes to traffic patterns as construction progresses. Motorists are asked to follow posted signage and allow extra travel time when moving through the area.

For more information and updates, visit calgary.ca/watermainbreak