Calgary officials say water security is just three fewer toilet flushes away as repairs continue on a fragile feeder main that failed last week, plunging the city into a conservation crisis.
Emergency Management Agency chief Sue Henry held up a plastic refillable jug during a news conference on Thursday, similar to the type used with water coolers, to illustrate how much each city resident needs to save.
“This bottle holds 20 litres of water. Thirty litres of water is one and a half of these bottles. When you look at it in this perspective, this is not a lot of water,” Henry said.
“Just flushing the toilet three less times in a day will save the 30 litres right there. Every minute you save in the shower uses eight litres of water and running your dishwashers and washing machines only when full will continue to save water.”
She said those targets will ensure enough water for emergencies like firefighting while the pipe is fixed.
Calarians continue to use too much water
Calgarians have been using more water than can be replenished in its reservoirs for almost every day since the Bearspaw South Feeder Main, which carries 60 per cent of the city’s treated water, ruptured on Dec. 30.
The line is expected to be up and running as early as next week. The city is also speeding ahead with plans to replace the pipe, which dates to the 1970s.
“While we are still dealing with a very sick pipe, the end of this immediate repair is in sight,” Mayor Jeromy Farkas told the news conference.
“We are turning a corner. But I want to be very clear, we are not in the clear yet.”
On Wednesday, an emergency alert was issued for Calgary, saying water usage across the city had reached an unsustainable level and residents and businesses were called on to conserve water immediately.
It was the third straight day that city officials said water usage was far above desired amounts.
The same water main also suffered a catastrophic failure in 2024, leading to months of water restrictions. A report into that failure, compiled by an independent panel and released Wednesday, blamed two decades of underinvestment and insufficient knowledge of the risk of pipe failures.
Preparations for another failure
In case the feeder main fails again before it is replaced, Henry said, measures are underway to make sure the deluge reaches the Bow River instead of flooding neighbourhoods.
The measures include removing segments of a flood barrier on the Bow, which normally keeps floodwater from entering the community.
Water raced down the roadway around 16th Avenue NW and Sarcee Trail, northwest of downtown near the site of Canada Olympic Park, when the water main failed on Dec. 30, swirling and occasionally gushing in small plumes and geysers as crews used inflatable rafts to rescue trapped drivers.
No one was injured.
“Removing these sections of the berm will allow the water to flow into the river and help protect the surrounding area,” Henry said.
“We will be working on backup plans to quickly replace these sections as needed during flood season.”
The report released Wednesday noted that Calgary isn’t alone in struggling to keep up with necessary maintenance for water infrastructure, citing Statistics Canada figures showing that more than a quarter of water mains across the country are due for repair.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 8, 2026.