AHS water quality tests come back clean: Calgary moves forward with stabilizing service

Mayor Gondek expressed "cautious optimism" at her Sunday morning update on the water main break. (Photo: X@cityofcalgary)

The city is entering the final stages of resuming water service through its repaired feeder main, as water consumption continues to fall below the city’s threshold level.

The city announced Sunday afternoon that water quality testing results "meets and exceeds" water quality standards, giving the city the green light to move on to the final stage of restoring service - stabilization.

“Stabilization is a complex process that doesn’t only focus on the repaired sections of pipe, but means we have to stabilize Calgary’s entire water network,” said capital priorities and infrastructure director Francois Bouchart, in a media release. “This step carries the largest amount of risk, and we have contingency plans to ensure we can respond quickly if required.”

No concerns

At her early Sunday update, Mayor Jyoti Gondek said flushing the pipes produced no concerns.

That means water crews will slowly turn on pumps and valves to bring the water lines back on.

“This is the most risky step in the process,” Gondek said, comparing it to someone trying out a vulnerable body part after recovering from surgery.

Water consumption down again

She said water consumption continued to decline Saturday, dropping to 447 million litres, well below the city threshold of 480 million litres – although it probably didn’t hurt that lots of residents are out of town enjoying the Canada Day long weekend.

She asked residents to continue to conserve water.

“If you have to play air guitar in the shower, there are many perfect three-minute (long) songs on the first Clash album,” she said.

Gondek said the river pathway by Point McKay has re-opened.

Once the water comes back on, she added, some fire hydrants may be used to expel water, which is normal. The first community where that may happen is Parkdale.

The next update is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Canada Day. To watch live, log on to CTV News.