Smoke from wildfires in British Columbia and Alberta blanket the downtown core and the famous Calatrava Peace Bridge in Calgary on July 24.Todd Korol/Reuters
Calgarians are steeling themselves for another month of short showers and slightly smelly toilets as the city undertakes more repairs to one of its major water mains.
But this time, they will have the chance to prepare for the coming order to conserve water indoors and a ban on outdoor watering before it begins Aug. 28.
The city’s 1.6 million residents and those in surrounding communities that use Calgary water spent a month under heavy water restrictions earlier in the summer after a massive break in one of the main pipes. It triggered an unprecedented water supply crisis in Alberta’s largest city.
Tests on more than 10 kilometres of the pipe revealed 16 problem spots that urgently need to be fixed, Mayor Jyoti Gondek announced Wednesday.
Communities affected beyond city limits include Airdrie, Tsuut’ina Nation, Strathmore and Chestermere. Residents will be asked to limit showers to three minutes, skip toilet flushes when possible, and only run full loads of laundry and dishes. Businesses are advised to reduce indoor water use by 25 per cent, but the city said none will be asked to close unless absolutely necessary.
The news triggered a sense of déjà vu and a wave of “Oh no, not again,” across the city, but businesses say water consumption cuts won’t be as difficult as last time.
Unlike in June, when an emergency alert warning of a critical water shortage blared unexpectedly from cellphones, televisions and radios, the planned outage means they can develop water-use plans in advance.
At the MNP Community and Sport Centre, which hosts multiple pools, gyms, running tracks and other fitness spaces, chief executive Jeff Booke said being able to plan ahead means the restrictions will have far less impact than the earlier limits.
“During the previous water restrictions, most aquatic facilities closed pools outright and turned their showers off, and that had massive negative implications in terms of our ability to run programs, generate revenue, serve our customers and allow for clients to train and compete,” he said.
“In this case, what we’re hearing is that it’s a 25-per-cent reduction in water use, and we’re quite confident that we can manage that with significantly less impact.”
The centre’s working plan, he said, includes encouraging people to take shorter showers and possibly closing amenities that tend to guzzle water, such as the steam room.
Mona Pinder, executive director of the Alberta Hospitality Association, said she experienced the same initial “Oh no” that hit most Calgarians when they heard about new restrictions.
“I think businesses felt that, too, but they’ve been through it, so they know what actions to take to reduce water use,” Ms. Pinder said in an interview.
“As long as we don’t have any shutdowns, we’ll be okay. We’ll be frustrated, but we’ll do what we have to do.”
It helps that the association shared information with members back in June about what restaurants were doing to reduce water consumption, she said, so they already have easy-to-access tips.
Ms. Gondek acknowledged that news of more water restrictions wasn’t something anybody wanted to hear.
She spent Thursday morning speaking to residents and businesses in the Bowness and Montgomery neighbourhoods, which will bear the brunt of the impact of repair work to the pipe.
And while she heard frustration, she said during an interview she was pleased that this time, the city can provide more definitive answers.
“I think people know what to expect this time around, but there is unhappiness and fatigue,” she said.
“I talked to a lot of people who have said, ‘Okay, this time, I know that I need to change my bedding, have enough towels. I need to make sure that my load of laundry, the load of dishes, are done.’ We were caught off-guard last time, and so this time, we really wanted people to be able to prepare.”
Ms. Gondek said the optimist in her was hoping that tests would reveal no problems with the pipe, though she expected that some repair work would need to be done. Differences in pressure inside and outside the pipe mean that work can’t be done with the water continuing to flow.
Still, this time Calgary has materials, equipment and crews readily available, she said, so all 16 of the repairs can be addressed as quickly as possible.
Work on the pipe is expected to last for about a month.