'Thank you sincerely': Calgary water consumption declines as city prepares to test pipe

Water consumption in Calgary declined Friday, to 460 million litres, after spiking to 500 million litres Thursday. (Photo: X@CityofCalgary)

Calgarians cut their water consumption Friday, giving Mayor Gondek some good news to announce at her Saturday morning update on the state of the city’s water supply.

After scolding residents for blowing through the 480 million litre threshold Thursday, when consumption hit 500 million litres, Gondek said Friday’s consumption dropped to 460 million litres -- a 23 per cent decline over usual consumption levels.

“Thank you sincerely for understanding what we needed to do together,” Gondek said.

Saturday afternoon, Gondek reiterated that message as members of the city’s emergency management team delivered updates on the state of the city’s water supply.

The system has been repaired and work is on schedule restoring water service to the feeder main, which crews finished filling with water Friday night.

Flushing was being completed Saturday afternoon, and Gondek said acoustic and pressure monitoring have shown no areas of concern.

“Preliminary steps look encouraging,” she said.

The timeline for completion isn't quite clear but it's getting close, said Michael Thompson, the city's general manager of infrastructure services.

"We're still looking at a few days," Thompson said.

Tested and analyzed

Water samples still need to be tested and analyzed by Alberta Health Services, the city added in a media release Saturday afternoon.

The testing could create pressure changes as crews go through the final stages of returning service to normal.

The city said  in a media statement that 1,878 people have visited its six non-potable water pickup sites, picking up 2,233 litres of water.

Non-potable water continues to be available for residents to pick up from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Commercial hours for businesses are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The city has received over 10,000 calls to 311 about the situation, including 2,931 about water misuse, which has resulted in 18 tickets.

The fire ban remains in effect for the City of Calgary, which includes fireworks. Do not fire or ignite your own fireworks, which are only allowed by permit on a case-by-case basis.

Some sections of the Bow River Pathway have detours and the parking lot at Point McKay north of Edworthy Park and the river near Bowness Road are closed to the public.

16 Avenue N.W. is open to traffic in both directions.