The City of Calgary has reached a major milestone in the work to repair the beleaguered Bearspaw South Feeder Main as crews were scheduled to begin the process of slowly refilling the pipe with water on Friday — a task that will take several days to complete.

The water will then need to be tested to confirm it is safe for consumption, then the feeder main will be reconnected to the rest of Calgary’s water system.

The excavations along the nine sections of pipe where the repairs are being done have now been backfilled and the roads that had to be torn up to allow the work to proceed will soon be repaved.

However, the city does not yet have a date for when the water restrictions will be lifted.

“We’re getting close, but we’re not out of the woods yet,” said the city’s general manager of infrastructure services, Michael Thompson. “Over the next few days, we will be moving ahead in a measured, deliberate way, with a focus on stability and safety as we work to start flowing water through the pipe.”

Mayor Jeromy Farkas told Global News in an interview on Friday: “We’re just a couple more days until we can end the water restrictions, but this allows us to reinforce those sections that we knew were on the imminent, imminently going to fail.”

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The latest information on water use from the city shows that on Thursday, Calgarians used 483 million litres of water — that’s below the 500 million litres of daily water use that the city claims is sustainable while the feeder main is shut down and the Glenmore Reservoir is being used to supply most of the city’s water.

On Wednesday, Calgarians used 501 million litres.

2:07
Calgary under month-long water restrictions as Bearspaw feeder main work begins

“We know next week is spring break for a lot of households,” Thompson said.  “We ask everyone to continue with your water saving, especially as your household routines might change next week.”

Thompson said it will also take about five million litres of water to refill the recently repaired sections of the pipe, so overall water use is expected to increase over the weekend.

Even with the repairs that are being done, Farkas continues to warn that the pipe is terminally ill and could still break at any time, which would result in another shutdown and more water restrictions.

While the city said mitigation work has been done to protect homes and businesses, the city has also issued a warning about the possibility of pooling water in the communities of Bowness and Montgomery should there be another failure.

“There are a couple areas through those communities where if the pipe were to fail, it would cause flooding. Think like the videos that folks saw on December 30th when Trans-Canada Highway became that surging river. So we don’t want to be in that situation. So we’ve done some preventative work in the area. You’ll see adjustments to the pathway, the berms, but we want to do this as safely as possible,” Farkas said.

The city has also produced maps of the area showing where water could pool if there is another failure.

The city will also be hosting an online information session on Monday at noon to provide an update on the feeder main repairs for people who live in the area.

Farkas claims the city is also on track to complete the job of replacing the old concrete feeder main with a new steel pipe by sometime in December.

6:11
Calgary mayor talks about latest water restrictions, public hearings on rezoning bylaw

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Calgary’s daily water use increased to a level deemed unsustainable for the first time since restrictions on water consumption were imposed last week.

On Sunday, Calgary and surrounding communities used 504 million litres of water, ending a six-day streak of water use under the city-imposed daily threshold of 500 million litres.

According to city officials, “a small uptick” was anticipated as Sundays typically see higher use.

“We get it, and one day in the red does not undo the excellent work we all did through last week,” City of Calgary Infrastructure Services general manager Michael Thompson said Monday.

“We still have three weeks to go before the feeder main is back in service, so today, I want to ask you to start week two strong.”

The latest round of water restrictions took effect on March 9 as city crews shut down the Bearspaw feeder main for a series of reinforcement repairs following two catastrophic failures in less than two years.

While the feeder main is out of service, as it typically carries 60 per cent of the city’s treated water supply, city officials are urging Calgarians to find ways to save 25 litres of water per day.

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Officials recommend skipping toilet flushes, shortening showers to three minutes or less and only running dishwashers and washing machines with a full load.

At YMCA Calgary, staff are taking a number of measures to reduce water consumption with 85 per cent of the facilities’ water use attributed to showers.

“We’re saving about 15,000 litres a day and we’re doing that mostly by taking to our members,” said YMCA Calgary’s operations vice-president Nick Wiggins.

“That three-minute shower recommendation the city has provided, that’s what we’re encouraging our members to do.”

According to city officials, there were two incidents over the weekend that highlighted the importance of water conservation during the feeder main repairs, including a now lifted boil-water advisory in Spruce Cliff and parts of Wildwood and Rosscarrock.

Thompson said crews needed to flush water through pipes and fire hydrants before the advisory could be lifted, which used two million litres of water over three days.

A large fire in the Manchester Industrial Park early Monday morning also required about seven million litres of water to extinguish, Thompson said.

“These are the kinds of situations that make it so important that we have a sufficient supply of treated water in our underground storage tanks,” Thompson said.

“Because of the actions you took last week to save water, we had enough available in our underground storage tanks to deal with these two issues.”

4:26
Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas on city water restrictions due to reinforcement of Bearspaw South Feeder Main

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Meanwhile, repairs continue on nine segments of the Bearspaw feeder main along 16 Avenue near Sarcee Trail, as well as in Point McKay Park.

City officials said the pipe is now drained, and trench boxes have been installed along the nine segments of pipe that need reinforcement. The first two concrete encasement pours began on Monday, with more planned throughout the rest of the week, city officials said.

“This is difficult work, it’s precise work, and it’s work that is happening around the clock,” Calgary mayor Jeromy Farkas told reporters.

“Even in weather like we’ve seen recently, crews are out there every day making progress and moving this project forward.”

Work is expected to last until April 9 — a “temporary inconvenience,” according to Farkas, until the feeder main’s replacement is complete by the end of the year.

City administration has budgeted $40 million for the repairs to the feeder main as part of a request for $609 million in additional funding for water infrastructure.  That funding request will be decided by Calgary city council during a meeting on Tuesday.

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The City of Calgary has confirmed the second stage of replacing the ailing Bearspaw feeder main will result in significant impacts for residents in Bowness, with plans to dig a large trench through the neighbourhood.

In an update released Friday morning, city officials confirmed crews will use an “open-cut” method for the project’s second stage, which runs from 73 Street N.W. to 87 Street N.W.

According to the city, crews will be excavating a trench along 34 Avenue N.W. and installing the new pipe directly into the open trench, which will be followed by backfilling and surface restoration once work is complete.

The existing feeder main is located just one block away along 33 Avenue N.W.

The open-cut construction will be sequenced in large sections along the alignment, according to city officials, with “one or two” sections completed at a time.

“Open-cut construction will result in significant impacts for residents in the area, including traffic disruptions, noise, street parking impacts, dust and changes to local access,” the city said in a news release. “Plans are rapidly evolving, and teams are currently assessing the full scope of impacts.”

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According to the city, the roadway will be reopened after each section of construction is complete and crews move to the next area.

The city said the approach helps “reduce the duration of localized impacts.”

Construction is expected to last five months, with shovels scheduled to go in the ground in May. Estimates show pipe construction should be completed by October.

“Over the coming weeks and months, the city will work closely with the community to provide greater detail of construction activities, address unique needs of individual residents and support mitigation efforts where practical,” the city said in its release.

Earlier this year, city officials announced it was expediting the project to replace the Bearspaw feeder main after two critical ruptures in less than two years.

The project is now scheduled to be completed in December, after the original timeline had its completion date sometime in 2028.

City officials cancelled the competitive bid process for the project and instead awarded a sole-source contract to Ward & Burke Microtunnelling Ltd. and Graham Construction to fast-track the work.

Construction on the first phase of the project is already underway, which will see microtunneling used to install a new steel pipe between the Shaganappi Pump Station and 73 Street N.W. on the west side of the Bow River.

According to the city, microtunneling was chosen for the first stage due to the alignment having “significant crossings” at 16 Avenue, the Bow River, Sarcee Trail and the CPKC rail line.

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