Hi everyone, Mark Iype from the Alberta Bureau this morning.
It’s been a long wait Calgary, but it’s finally here.
Yahoo!
And I’m not (just) talking about Stampede.
On Thursday, Mayor Jyoti Gondek officially announced the end of the state of emergency imposed in June after the catastrophic rupture of a water main that carried 60 per cent of the city’s drinking water.
Exactly one month ago, the city discovered the failure in the Bearspaw South feeder main which serves Calgary as well as a number of surrounding communities. The next day, mandatory and voluntary restrictions were imposed, imploring residents to reduce their water usage by 25 per cent.
While there was an initial belief the fix could take a week or two, that timeline ballooned to a possible five weeks after more weak spots in the massive pipe were discovered. And that would have overlapped with the start of Stampede – more than just a headache for the city’s premier event.
But with crews working overtime to get the work completed, this week’s relaxing of indoor water use restrictions is a huge boost for a city tired of short showers and piles of laundry. Outdoor water use, such as watering lawns, is still prohibited, but even that should change soon.
Of course, now come the hard questions. How did this happen? Could it happen again? And who is paying the bill?
As The Globe’s Carrie Tait reported a few weeks ago, there are 187 kilometres of pipe similar to the line that suffered the catastrophic break and prompted the emergency fix-it job. It is a prestressed concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP), a design used elsewhere in Calgary and across North America, and one that is known to be vulnerable to major failures. While figuring out what exactly caused the rupture may be impossible, a repeat scenario is not outside of the realm of possibility.
As for cost and where the repair money is coming from, that too remains an open question.
While Calgary is keeping track of expenses, Gondek didn’t provide much insight on the final tab this week.
“Talking about the numbers at this point would not be useful to anyone,” she said. “We don’t want to just give you snapshots in time, because the questions will be: ‘What did you spend it on, and what was that for, and is there anything remaining?’
“We want to be able to give you a full picture and be able to tell you how that money was spent.”
Ric McIver, Alberta’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and a former Calgary city councillor, said on Tuesday that he expects the city will approach the province for help.
“Nobody has enough money, including municipalities,” he said.
While the final bill is tallied, the city’s legal team is also exploring whether insurance will cover some of the expenses.
Last month, the city said it has engaged the private sector, national water associations and academics to conduct a third-party review of what happened, look at current inspection practices and provide recommendations on how to improve.
This is the weekly Alberta newsletter written by Alberta Bureau Chief Mark Iype. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters here.