Mayor apologizes to Calgarians for 'slow' and 'confusing' communications about water main break
CBC
Mayor Jyoti Gondek apologized to Calgary residents Sunday morning, calling the city's efforts to communicate information about the ongoing feeder water main break "slow to come," and "confusing at times."
"Going forward, we will do a much better job of explaining what's happened, the expected timeline to get back to normal, and what we need from you in the way of water conservation," Gondek told reporters at a press conference.
"And that starts now."
Beginning Monday, Gondek said she will be providing an update to Calgarians every morning through a livestream at 8:30. In addition, the city's emergency management team will hold media briefings at 2 p.m. each day to update residents on the progress that's been made.
The daily updates will continue until the water situation returns to normal, the mayor said.
A major feeder water main break near the western edge of the city plunged Calgary's water supply into a critical state Wednesday night.
The Bearspaw south water main, which is 11 kilometres long and as wide as two metres in parts, suffered a break that left hundreds of homes and businesses in the city's northwest without water and forced the closure of several roads and intersections, including 16 Avenue — part of the Trans-Canada Highway — in both directions.
Updating the situation Saturday morning, the city said that crews reached the damaged section of the critical water main on Friday and cleared water, dirt and debris to assess the site of the leak.
Crews then began preparing the feeder main for cutting out the damaged section of pipe.
Gondek explained the process of repairing the feeder main Sunday morning, saying that a section of steel pipe will be fitted into the water main, replacing the damaged concrete section. The new pipe will be both welded and epoxied into place, and the repaired area will be tented to keep the heat in, allowing the new seal to become tight.
Following that, the pipe will be flushed to remove debris and allow crews to determine if the water flowing through the pipe is safe to drink. The mayor said a minimum of five to seven days will be required to complete the process.
While the repair work continues, Calgarians are being asked to keep reducing their water use so as not to overtax the water supply in the neighbourhood reservoirs that would normally be resupplied by the feeder main.
Gondek said water use has been declining since the break.
WATCH | Gondek promises to do better job explaining water problems:
Aggressive patients and lack of security are making nurses feel unsafe in a rural Western Manitoba emergency union, says the Manitoba Nurses Union.
Saskatoon resident Delynne Bortis knew her commute to work Tuesday morning would be particularly difficult.
WARNING: This story contains details of abuse and intimate partner violence:
The amount of money it takes for people to earn a living wage has increased across the province, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The new owner of Ontario steelmaker Stelco says his company "will not disappoint the people of Hamilton and Nanticoke," where the business's major facilities are based.
A Winnipegger is warning others about an intricate scam she says she almost fell for.
Fort William First Nation is opposing a planned redevelopment of the Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 117 year old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, which is located in their traditional territory.
A building that sits at the corner of Sussex Street and Brunswick Avenue has had many lives over the last century — being a church, a school and offices. Now it's set to become housing, at a time when the city sorely needs it.
A Waterloo, Ont., elementary school principal will be sentenced in the new year after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation charges following a joint investigation that involved the London, Toronto and Waterloo police services.
Students at UPEI have let their student union know what they want from the province this fiscal year, and those priorities are reflected in a 2024-2025 advocacy document brought to the legislature on Wednesday.
Larger communities in the N.W.T. will soon see a boost in their territorial funding to maintain infrastructure and deliver services — like water and waste management — but the increase still falls short of what communities need.