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Calgarians can keep their showers running for four minutes or more starting Thursday, as the city’s latest round of water restrictions have come to an end.
“As of today, you can resume normal water use. Outdoor water restrictions are lifted, and indoor water conservation is no longer needed,” said Michael Thompson, Calgary’s general manager of infrastructure services.
Restrictions were in place for more than three weeks, and with Thursday’s announcement, Mayor Jeromy Farkas said construction crews restored water flow to the Bearspaw south feeder main a week ahead of the city’s schedule.
Thompson said construction crews are expected to complete surface work on Thursday, and traffic detours along Sarcee Trail and 16th Avenue N.W. will be removed throughout this weekend.
Water restrictions had been in place since March 9, as the city reinforced nine particularly deteriorated sections of the Bearspaw feeder main this spring. The repairs are part of a year-long effort to repair and replace the pipe — which is crucial to Calgary’s water system — after a pair of catastrophic failures in the last two years.
For nearly a month, Calgarians were asked to take shorter showers and reduce toilet flushes as well as laundry and dish loads.
The city aimed to keep its water usage within a safe limit of less than 500 million litres to avoid overburdening Calgary’s water system in case of an emergency, such as a fire or another water main break.
Thompson praised Calgarians’ ability to stay in the safe green zone throughout the recent water restrictions.
The restrictions also applied to communities that rely on Calgary’s water supply like Airdrie, Chestermere, Strathmore and Tsuut’ina Nation.
During the Bearspaw’s shutdown, Calgary relied primarily upon the smaller Glenmore water treatment plant.
Bearspaw replacement still on track
A replacement to the Bearspaw south feeder main is still on track to be completed by the end of the year. The Bearspaw carries roughly 60 per cent of the city’s drinking water.
The city is planning another round of water restrictions this fall, when the pipe is planned to shut down to connect a replacement. The dates for that later round of water restrictions have not been announced yet.
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Thompson said that microtunnelling to install new pipe began last week, and that the city will inform residents if any delays occur in the schedule to replace the Bearspaw.
Mayor Jeromy Farkas reminded Calgarians on Thursday of a statement he’s made throughout this year that the Bearspaw is “terminally ill.” While another round of restrictions isn’t expected until later this year, Thompson said another break could still occur before then, requiring more water restrictions.
“These reinforcements do not mean that we are out of the woods, they do not mean that the pipe is fixed permanently, and we cannot afford to become complacent,” said Farkas.