Mayor thanks Calgary for saving water again after usage increases last week – Winnipeg Free Press

CALGARY – A day after Mayor Jyoti Gondek criticized some Calgarians for appearing to neglect water conservation as the city worked to get a broken water main back up and running, he thanked residents for doing a better job.

Gondek said in an online update Saturday that the city used 460 million liters of water on Friday, which she said is 23 percent of what the city normally uses.

It was a different story on Friday, when Gondek warned that daily water consumption continued to rise all week, reaching 500 million liters on Thursday – the highest level since the city imposed a combination of voluntary and mandatory restrictions.

She reiterated the importance of conserving water so that sufficient water is available for firefighters and hospitals.

The ruptured pipeline and five other problem areas have been repaired and crews were scheduled to finish pumping millions of gallons of water through 2.8 miles of replacement pipe by Friday evening.

Gondek says the filling of the supply line has been completed and crews flushed the system on Saturday, which will be followed by testing of the water by Alberta Health Services and a gradual restoration to normal pressure.

“If you’ve ever had major surgery or know someone who has, you know that after the last stitches, there’s still post-operative care,” Gondek said in Saturday’s video.

“Just because the stitches are done doesn’t mean the journey is over.”

She said the worksites are currently “stitched together,” filled in and paved, and water crews are now doing that “post-operative care.”

Michael Thompson, Calgary’s general manager of infrastructure services, told a news conference later Saturday that acoustic and pressure measurements have not identified any problem areas on the pipeline, but problems could still arise once flushing is completed and crews reduce pressure in the pipeline. restore system.

“We are proceeding cautiously and carefully. Our team continues to monitor everything closely and is prepared to respond if we encounter any setbacks,” Thompson said.