Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek says she wants other municipalities to come together to learn all they can from the city’s water crisis, which she said could happen anywhere in Canada.
“If it happened in Calgary, it can happen anywhere,” she said in her daily address on Friday morning.
Gondek also pledged to reach out to other municipal leaders to make sure what happened to Calgary doesn’t happen anywhere else.
“I was in communication with the chair and vice-chair of the Big City Mayors’ Caucus asking them what we can do. I needed to make sure that the experience we had here in Calgary translate into lessons learned and pre-emptive behaviour for other cities as well.”
Gondek said she will also be asking council about what they can allocate in upcoming budgets for water infrastructure.
“It is my job to advocate for the people of this city and this region, and this is the job that I’m doing,” she said Friday.
“Like all of you, I want to have a clear line of sight of our infrastructure under the ground in Calgary.”
To do that, she expects to be leaning on other level of governments to support that work.
“I will be calling in all favours from the provincial and federal governments. They have been generous in saying they have been ready to step up and support as needed.”
Second water collection site to open
The first water collection site opened Thursday at the West Baker Park boat launch.
A second at the Ogden boat launch will open on Friday.
The Ogden boat launch will be closed for regular use, while the West Baker Park boat launch will remain open.
Those allowed to draw from the Bow include:
- Contractors with active development permits;
- Commercial landscapers;
- Bulk water users with hydrant agreements; and
- Contractors on capital projects.
Stage four water restrictions are in place, meaning all outdoor water use is prohibited until further notice.
The original water main break has been fixed and the city is halfway done replacing five pipe segments with structural deficiencies.
All work could be complete by July 5, but it may take up to five weeks.
In the coming days, Gondek said more information is expected about the experts on the third-party review panel into the water main break and how the review will be conducted.
Further details on the water main repair are expected during the afternoon update at 2 p.m. MT.
– With files from Alesia Fieldberg)