The City of Calgary continues to repair a large water main break in the Bowness and Montgomery communities, according to a City of Calgary livestream Friday afternoon.
The water transmission line is critical, and it has severely impacted the ability to move water around the city.
At the first Friday morning news conference, City of Calgary director of water services Nancy Mackay explained that Calgarians need to come together to cut down water usage by 25 per cent. It has not been enough according to the afternoon news conference.
Mackay said that demand continues to exceed supply, but she said we are “days” away from running out of water.
“We produce 520 million litres of water per day, and our demands today averaged 610 million litres,” according Mackay.
Underground reservoirs are being monitored closely according to Susan Henry, Chief of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA). She asks that water usage continues to be lowered.
“Although we have seen a decrease in water usage, we can do more, and we need to do more,” said Susan Henry, Chief of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency.
Airdrie continues to be under level four water restrictions, and Airdrie Mayor Peter Brown, who also attended the press conference, urged the citizens of Airdrie to cut down on water usage as well.
“This is such a critical time. Every drop counts,” said Mayor Brown.
The top 100 users of water in Airdrie have been contacted according to Mayor Brown, and he assured that Airdrie is actively updating the situation.
According to Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek, the bottom line is that water restrictions, boil water advisories, and fire bans will remain in place until the expertise of maintenance teams can ensure the break is repaired.
For updates and information, please visit https://newsroom.calgary.ca/city-news-releases/
