Alberta\u2019s winters are known for their drastic unpredictability. <\/p>\n
From weeks of bitterly cold temperatures to sudden Chinooks that make it seem as if winter is over, residents have become accustomed to expecting the unexpected.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
These weather fluctuations also affect the city\u2019s infrastructure, including water services, pipes, roads, and transportation. Climate change may also increase unpredictability as extreme weather events become more frequent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lynn Moorman, an earth and environmental sciences professor at Mount Royal University (MRU), explains that these conditions affect roads and sidewalks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have temperatures that move above and below 0 C, water gets into cracks when it is warm, and then that water freezes and expands, causing increased pressure forcing the cracks open further,\u201d said Moorman in an email interview with the Calgary Journal.<\/p>\n
Cold weather also affects other areas of infrastructure, including homes and buildings. According to a 2021<\/a> City of Calgary report, large snow and rain events can cause damage to properties and buildings.<\/p>\n How extreme weather damages infastucture <\/p>\n Given the unpredictable weather, the city tries to prepare for temperature changes in advance. During warmer spells, maintenance crews monitor freezing and thawing conditions and respond to service requests.<\/p>\n \u201cCold temperatures and changing weather conditions can influence Calgary\u2019s water infrastructure, but our system is designed and built to manage the typical freeze-thaw cycles we experience throughout the season,\u201d the city said in an email statement.<\/p>\n Weather extremes also affect aging infrastructure. Though not the main cause, a 2026 report<\/a> by the City of Calgary says long-term deterioration of the Bearspaw South Feeder main was a factor in its break.<\/p>\n Shweta Chugh, a senior lecturer of earth and environmental sciences at MRU, explains that breaks in feeder main pipes are occurring more frequently due to age and a lack of prioritization of other community resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhatever infrastructure they have had, it was built for the climate of yesterday. It is not built for the climate of today,\u201d said Chugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n With this in mind, Chugh said that newer buildings are being designed to better withstand the city\u2019s climate.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re not as impacted by the environmental change as the old ones have been,\u201d added Chugh. <\/p>\n 11 per cent of Calgary infastructure in very poor state <\/p>\n Lori Rissling Wynn, the director of Grants and Initiatives at Alberta Ecotrust Foundation, says city officials are planning and strategizing different ways to maintain buildings and systems.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say, you know, the city of Calgary\u2019s doing a lot to try and address changes to their infrastructure related to climate, and also ensure that they\u2019re addressing adaptation and creating resilience within the city,\u201d said Rissling Wynn.<\/p>\n With winter weather highs and lows, the city reports that it is very important to understand and mitigate potential infrastructure risks.\u00a0<\/p>\n