Fallbacks and boosting capacity major goals of Calgary’s new water projects

Plans to prevent another water crisis in Calgary could see a second feeder main built near the site of last year's massive break.

Calgary officials are recommending the twinning of the city’s main water line that was the site of last year’s massive feeder main break.

A long-term water plan for Calgary presented to a committee Wednesday morning outlined steps to boost water supply and secure reliability for decades to come.

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“Part of the understanding for twinning the pipe is so that we also have reliability and redundancy specific to the asset itself,” explained Steve Wyton, the city’s manager for asset management planning.

The plans include building a new water treatment plant, upgrading the old Glenmore Water Treatment Plant and three major feeder main projects.

City administration says the projects are about increasing capacity to keep up with Calgary’s extreme growth.

The other major focus is creating more redundancy in the system.

It comes in the wake of the Bearspaw South feeder main break last summer that forced water restrictions on two separate occasions.

“We went through the water main feeder break in the summertime, we went through several various water main breaks through the winter time and the loss of service is something we don’t want Calgarians to experience, so we want to make sure the expenditures are properly placed and timed in the right area,” said Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong.

Adding another water line adjacent to the Bearspaw feeder main is recommended to be done by boring a micro-tunnel underneath parts of Bowness and Montgomery, two communities that faced major disruptions and limited access during last year’s emergency repair work.

Construction on the new line, which could begin as soon as the end of this year, would cause some disruptions once again.

“(Businesses and residents) went through a lot last summer, basically because we reacted to everything. And so now that we have some time to work with them and be proactive, maybe it’ll alleviate some stress that they will feel, especially when it comes to the businesses that were hard hit during the last water main,” said Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp.

Design work is still being finalized and city administration say the focus for the next several months will be on alerting residents and businesses that could be impacted.

Costs are also unknown, though councillors did recently pass borrowing bylaws totalling more than a billion dollars for future water infrastructure projects.

The North Calgary Water Servicing Project, set to finish in 2028, will provide partial system redundancy to the Bearspaw South feeder main as well as six other feeder mains.

The South Calgary Water Servicing Project, slated to wrap up in 2031, will provide the remaining system redundancy to the Bearspaw South feeder main.

The third feeder main project, the crosstie feeder main, aims to improve the redundancy of the feeder main network in northeast Calgary and improve system pressures in Saddle Ridge, Taradale, Martindale and Falconridge.

That’s expected to be complete by 2029.

Water treatment plant expansion

Along with additional feeder mains, the city is also looking to bolster its treatment plants.

One project is the Glenmore Water Treatment Plant Expansion.

That work, expected to be completed by 2031, includes a new treated water storage reservoir, high lift pump station and a new electrical building.

The city is also looking to add an additional water treatment plant along the Bow River as part of its Water Treatment Expansion program.

It says the plant will become operational in 2035.

City administration says the plant will help them do critical maintenance work with fewer interruptions to customers and give more flexibility if something were to go wrong.

Bearspaw South Feeder Main

The city notes even with the new feeder mains, the Bearspaw South feeder main will continue to play an important role in the function of Calgary’s water system.

The latest report on the feeder main, presented before council last December, said the condition of the pipe was improved with the repairs made last year.

However, analysis determined that over the next five to 30 years, a growing number of pipe segments are likely to require repair or replacement as they continue to deteriorate.

City council is still waiting on the independent report that will investigate the feeder main’s failure, but also the city’s response, determine total costs and assess Calgary’s state of water infrastructure as a whole.

The report is expected to be presented in April.