CALGARY — The city of Calgary has announced it will expand repairs to a pipeline that is already forcing residents to limit their water consumption.
CALGARY — The city of Calgary has announced it will expand repairs to a pipeline that is already forcing residents to limit their water consumption.
Michael Thompson, general manager of the city’s infrastructure services, says there have been other, but less serious, problems on the line that are being addressed at the same time as the larger problems.
In less than two weeks, residents of Calgary and surrounding communities will once again be asked to limit their indoor water use and prohibited from watering outdoors as work resumes on the troubled north side water main.
At the beginning of June, the main water pipe broke, meaning residents had to go without water for weeks while repairs were being carried out.
Earlier this month, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek announced that further testing had identified additional urgent problem areas that needed to be addressed before the winter freeze sets in.
Starting August 26, water rationing will resume for Calgary residents for approximately one month while repairs are completed.
The repair work on the pipeline mainly involves strengthening the concrete at vulnerable points.
Thompson told reporters Thursday that the less serious repairs, such as breaking reinforcement wires, are taking place near the larger ones, “we are taking care of all of them at the same time.”
Thompson said the city deployed acoustic monitoring equipment to monitor cable breaks along the main line in March or April. He said that system will be upgraded to a fiber optic system starting next week.
“The new system includes fiber optic cables that are installed inside the pipe. This allows us to pinpoint the exact location of a broken wire and allows us to monitor the condition of the pipe more accurately,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 15, 2024.
The Canadian Press
