Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the city used 500 million litres of water on Thursday — the most it has used since the crisis began.Gondek said the feeder main pipe is not back in service. “It’s still being prepared through those four final stages of filling, flushing, testing and stabilizing,” said Gondek at a Friday press conference. “The system that provides water to Calgary, Airdrie, Chestermere, Strathmore, and Tsuut’ina Nation is still in a vulnerable place.” In fact, she said crews are on the first stage of filling, which is taking longer than expected. If the process moves according to the updated time estimates, she pointed out the filling process could finish by Friday night. She said Calgarians need to keep reducing their water usage. A reporter asked her on Thursday about a report about Calgary being one of the most livable cities in the world, and she said this is because Calgarians are incredible. Because they are welcoming and compassionate, she said it makes it an amazing place to call home. She added they look out for each other, and conserving water in the last few weeks shows their can do spirit. The mayor went on to say Calgary “is built on a legacy of people who have embraced that can do spirit and attitude.” She said some people might think using one-quarter less water during the crisis is too hard. These people might say three-minute showers, waiting for full dishwasher loads, and not going to car washes are too hard. However, she said they have done hard challenges in the past and can do them now. Right now, she said they need their can do attitude, especially when they are so close to getting the water system back up and running at full capacity. While water restrictions remain in place, she confirmed it was moving forward with getting the system back up and running. Sixteen Avenue will open for increased traffic on Friday. The filling of the feeder main continues and is expected to be done by Friday night, which means crews will be flushing the pipe soon. If people are in Edworthy Park, they might see pipes and fire hydrants with this flushing water flowing out and into the river. Three areas of Edworthy Park will be closed to the public to allow this work to happen. As crews are finishing their work to ensure a clean, stable water supply, Gondek said Calgarians need to keep doing their part to keep usage down. “We have been doing this for three weeks, so it should be habits by now,” she said. Gondek requested Calgarians continue to conserve water on Thursday amid some of them saying they are done doing so. READ MORE: Gondek implores Calgarians to save water amid uptick in usageIn the last few days, she said Calgary has seen a steady, concerning trend of water usage creeping up. “Yesterday we used 473 million litres of water, and it was another day of very high water use,” she said.
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the city used 500 million litres of water on Thursday — the most it has used since the crisis began.Gondek said the feeder main pipe is not back in service. “It’s still being prepared through those four final stages of filling, flushing, testing and stabilizing,” said Gondek at a Friday press conference. “The system that provides water to Calgary, Airdrie, Chestermere, Strathmore, and Tsuut’ina Nation is still in a vulnerable place.” In fact, she said crews are on the first stage of filling, which is taking longer than expected. If the process moves according to the updated time estimates, she pointed out the filling process could finish by Friday night. She said Calgarians need to keep reducing their water usage. A reporter asked her on Thursday about a report about Calgary being one of the most livable cities in the world, and she said this is because Calgarians are incredible. Because they are welcoming and compassionate, she said it makes it an amazing place to call home. She added they look out for each other, and conserving water in the last few weeks shows their can do spirit. The mayor went on to say Calgary “is built on a legacy of people who have embraced that can do spirit and attitude.” She said some people might think using one-quarter less water during the crisis is too hard. These people might say three-minute showers, waiting for full dishwasher loads, and not going to car washes are too hard. However, she said they have done hard challenges in the past and can do them now. Right now, she said they need their can do attitude, especially when they are so close to getting the water system back up and running at full capacity. While water restrictions remain in place, she confirmed it was moving forward with getting the system back up and running. Sixteen Avenue will open for increased traffic on Friday. The filling of the feeder main continues and is expected to be done by Friday night, which means crews will be flushing the pipe soon. If people are in Edworthy Park, they might see pipes and fire hydrants with this flushing water flowing out and into the river. Three areas of Edworthy Park will be closed to the public to allow this work to happen. As crews are finishing their work to ensure a clean, stable water supply, Gondek said Calgarians need to keep doing their part to keep usage down. “We have been doing this for three weeks, so it should be habits by now,” she said. Gondek requested Calgarians continue to conserve water on Thursday amid some of them saying they are done doing so. READ MORE: Gondek implores Calgarians to save water amid uptick in usageIn the last few days, she said Calgary has seen a steady, concerning trend of water usage creeping up. “Yesterday we used 473 million litres of water, and it was another day of very high water use,” she said.
