Calgary and some neighbouring communities will return to mandatory water restrictions this week as work on the Bearspaw South Feeder Main replacement nears completion.
City-wide restrictions take effect Wednesday and are expected to remain in place for about four weeks while crews connect the new feeder main to Calgary’s water distribution system.
The restrictions will apply to residents and businesses in Calgary, Airdrie, Chestermere, Strathmore and Tsuut’ina Nation.
During the work, the existing feeder main will be taken offline, reducing the amount of water available across the region. The city will rely primarily on the Glenmore Water Treatment Plant while the work is underway.
Officials say regional water consumption must remain below 500 million litres per day to maintain reliable service, preserve firefighting capacity, and avoid placing the water system at risk.
Residents are being asked to avoid all outdoor water use, including filling or flooding outdoor skating rinks. The city is also urging people to run dishwashers and washing machines only when full, flush toilets only when necessary, and limit showers to three minutes or less.
Before the restrictions begin, residents are encouraged to complete “water-intensive tasks” such as laundry, vehicle washing at commercial car washes, and fall cleaning projects.
The replacement project was accelerated following two major feeder-main failures since June 2024.
The first rupture occurred on June 5, 2024, triggering a local state of emergency, boil-water advisories, and indoor and outdoor water restrictions that remained in place for weeks.
The feeder main ruptured again on Dec. 30, 2025, flooding parts of 16 Avenue NW and trapping motorists who required emergency rescues.
Following the second failure, city officials moved to fast-track construction of a permanent replacement pipe designed to improve the reliability of Calgary’s water system.
The city announced last week that the replacement project is now 95 per cent complete and the new feeder main remains on track to be placed into service before the end of the year.
Crews will complete six additional repairs during the planned four-week shutdown.
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