Restrictions to continue after additional wire snap; water consumption falls again

Another wire snapped inside the city’s feeder main Friday, as water consumption continued to decline.

Calgarians consumed 593 million litres of water, which city water services director Nancy McKay described as expected, given the relatively chilly temperatures.

Consumption dropped from 639 million litres on Thursday.

The new wire snap came after three new snaps were detected Thursday, but occurred in a different part of the pipe, McKay said adding they were not indicative that a new break was imminent.

The system is performing well, she added, in a media release.

“While these are not a sign that a feeder main break is imminent, we want to do some further investigation before we make any additional changes to our system or water restrictions,” Mackay said. “We will continue to investigate and closely monitor throughout the weekend and will have further updates for you each day.”  

Mackay said the city has received initial pipe diver results, which will require several days to analyze.

With one new wire snap and three on Thursday, she said the city would continue to analyze the situation for a little while longer before making a decision to ease Stage 1 outdoor water restrictions.

The next update is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon.