Now that repairs are complete on a catastrophic water main break in Calgary and work is underway on multiple other locations, Calgary’s mayor says a third-party review will be launched into what happened.
Mayor Jyoti Gondek, along with city manager David Duckworth, made the announcement during an update at 8:30 a.m., highlighting the city’s water usage and conservation tips with Calgarians.
“I know you want to understand what happened to this pipe in the first place and I do too,” she said.
Duckworth said the review will look into what caused the break and how it can be avoided in the future.
“The framework for the full third-party review has already been established and the scope of this review will include but not be limited to understanding the factors that contributed to the original pipe failure (and) understanding of our current practices for inspection and asset sustainability.”
He said the review will also include recommendations to improve water supply resilience moving forward.
“The review will be guided by an expert panel from academia, the water industry, water utilities management engineering and government entities focused on infrastructure and resilience.”
It’s the first morning update after the city, along with officials from the Calgary Stampede, announced that the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth would go ahead as scheduled despite falling within the timeframe of water main repairs.
The city said it looked at water usage in Calgary for the past five Stampedes and said there was not “a significant uptick in demand.”
The Stampede said it would also be looking at many different methods to offset the use of treated water at the park, including using non-potable water for the rodeo and animals.
When treated water is absolutely essential, officials said they would also look at bringing in supplies.
(With files from Bill Macfarlane)