Edmonton’s water usage in 2023 was higher than forecast, according to a progress report by Epcor.
In a presentation to Edmonton city council on Tuesday, Epcor stated that last year’s water consumption levels were high due to the dry and hot summer.
It was reported that much money was budgeted for maintenance work on aging infrastructure and rehabilitation programs.
City councillors asked Epcor if Edmonton is likely to see the same water restrictions Calgary is facing if something causes a water main to break – Epcor stated that it wouldn’t be the case here.
“Coming out of the water treatment plants, that’s where the most significant volume of water comes (from),” said Craig Bonneville, the director of engineering and technical services for Epcor.
“Depending on the nature of it, it’s timed to a degree so we don’t have that one feeder out of Bearspaw Water Treatment plant in Calgary that’s completely analogous in our system because we do have a fairly good ability to move water around,” he added.
The last time Epcor issued a mandatory non-essential water use ban was from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1 when the E.L. Smith Water Treatment Plant experienced a system failure.