A new round of water restrictions announced for Nov. 4

A new round of water restrictions announced for Nov. 4

Calgarians being asked to once again refrain from outdoor use and conserve water

Beginning Nov. 4, the Bearspaw south feeder main will once again be shut down while the final stages of construction on its replacement are completed, Calgary city officials have announced.

Over four weeks of work, Stage 4 outdoor water restrictions will be in place. Similar to the spring shutdown, outdoor water usage will not be permitted, and residents and businesses are asked to conserve water as much as possible. This includes taking measures such as running dishwashers and clothes washers only when full, flushing toilets only when needed, and reducing the length of showers.

The goal is to keep daily water usage below 500 million litres a day.

“We’re about to land the plane on the most ambitious infrastructure project in Calgary’s entire civic history,” said Mayor Jeromy Farkas while speaking at an update on the project.

During the four-week shutdown, the new feeder main will be connected to the existing system, completing a project that began on Dec. 30 of last year when the main broke for a second time.

According to officials, additional repairs to a smaller feeder main will also be completed during this time. Construction will occur along Parkdale Boulevard and Memorial Drive N.W. and will involve excavation at six locations to replace sections of concrete pipe with steel.

Once the new Bearspaw feeder main is connected and restrictions lifted city crews still need to disinfect the new main, then fill it and complete water quality testing. This is expected to be finished by year’s end.

No impacts to Grey Cup expected

City officials said the Grey Cup festivities planned for Nov. 11 to 15 will not be impacted and that they have been working with organizers on ways to reduce water consumption without impacting the events. All scheduled events for the Grey Cup festival are going ahead as planned, officials said.

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Farkas says that the urgency shown in completing this project in 11 months must continue with other major projects to address the city's infrastructure deficit, which he pegged at $52 billion.

The mayor also reiterated the need to increase water rates moving forward to compensate for both new infrastructure and the remaining inspections and repairs still needed for the water system.