The city of Calgary in Alberta, Canada is facing a water crisis after a critical main supplying 1.2 million people suffered a break.
Whilst a water main break would not normally register outside the local area, this one has made news beyond Calgary for its sheer scale.
The burst occurred on Wednesday 5th June to the Bearspaw South Feeder Main in the Bowness and Montgomery areas of the city.
Bearspaw South is 11km long and two metres wide in places. Or as Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek told a news conference: “You can literally drive a truck through the feeder main that is broken. It’s a pretty significant piece of infrastructure.”
It moves drinking water to the south and east from the city’s largest treatment part, located in the north. Over 50 percent of Calgary’s water supply passes through Bearspaw South.
Streets and playing fields suddenly started to flood at around 7pm. Water soon began escaping onto the TransCanada highway, forcing a section of Canada’s main east-west motorway to be closed in both directions.
Remarkably given the volume of water escaping, no homes or businesses were flooded. The biggest inconvenience initially was the number of road closures and diversions. One Montgomery resident joked to CBC that he was considering hiring a kayak to get around.
But with access to more than half the city’s drinking water cut off because of the main break, Calgary is now in danger of running dry.
City officials said in a statement: “This critical water transmission line has severely impacted the supply in Calgary’s reservoirs and the ability to move water across the city.”
“Calgary is currently using more water than it can produce. If Calgarians do not reduce our water use, we are at risk of running out.”
Residents have been urged to not shower, bath or use dishwashers and washing machines. Outdoor watering is banned.
All city-run aquatic and fitness centres are closed and essential supplies have been prioritised, such as for hospitals and the fire department.
Over 48 hours after the streets of Calgary started flooding and crews are still working to find the location of the water main break.
Large sections of road have been excavated, debris cleared and water pumped away. Until the leak source is discovered, it will not be possible to ascertain what caused the burst or attempt any sort of water main break repair.
The size and complexity of the pipe will make any repair challenging. Calgary residents and those of nearby communities also connected to Bearspaw South such as Airdrie, Strathmore and Chestermere can therefore expect to remain with water usage restrictions for some time yet.
Bearspaw South was installed in 1975; a time when below-grade PCCP (prestressed concrete cylinder pipe) were being used in major infrastructure projects across North America.
Whilst the city authority is yet to establish the cause of the break, it shares similar traits with significant PCCP failures in Washington DC.
A 2008 PCCP explosion released a torrent of water that led to motorists being rescued by boat and helicopter from a street in Bethedsa, just north of the US capital.
Three years later and a water main break destroyed a church, shops and cars as billions of litres of water gushed through the town of Capitol Heights.
Due to the restricted water use, a fire ban also remains in effect across the Calgary. It remains unclear how the Calgary Stampede in early July will be impacted.
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