Swift change in temperature leads to multiple water main breaks across Calgary

Rapidly changing temperatures have led to a handful of water main breaks across Calgary.

Much of the province saw a quick turnaround from the cold conditions, with Calgary warming up as much as 26 C in just 24 hours, and now city crews are working to restore water services to more than 200 homes.

According to the city's website, there were eleven water main breaks as of 1 p.m. Thursday.

While repairs generally take between 24 to 48 hours, the sheer number of issues across the city is causing delays.

Water main breaks are tough to predict and can happen for various reasons, but they're common in extreme cold weather and after quick temperature shifts.

With the brief cold spell the city experienced in the days leading up to Thursday morning, the soil surrounding the affected water mains froze, which caused the water molecules in the ground to expand.

Naturally, when the region began warming up, that soil started to thaw, causing those water molecules to shrink, making the ground shift, cracking pipes along the way.

Ogden is the most impacted neighbourhood, with 40 homes left without running water.

"I've seen where people have had them before, further down and on other blocks, but we had never had one here," said Sharon Arnold, who has lived in the neighbourhood for 12 years and has been left without running water.

"It was just a matter of time, I guess."

If you see water coming up through the grass, road or sidewalk, that's a good indication of a water main break in your community.

In that case, people are asked to call 311 to alert the city's water services unit, and crews will attend to the situation as soon as possible.