Murray Lytle PhD is a retired engineer with experience consulting around the world. He was also a permanent Member of the National Energy Board (now Canadian Energy Regulator).In 2007, the City of Calgary produced a Water Efficiency Plan report called 30-in-30, by 2033. On its first page it states. “It’s up to us to sustain our water”. I presume the city included itself in that injunction. I base this presumption on the fact that the words “lead by example” showed up in a few places. The document presented a bold plan to expand city growth in terms of area and population while keeping the water drawn from the reservoirs constant at 2003 rates. Given that the city population has almost doubled since that time, the city certainly set a stretch target. The report was full of strategies and tactics to achieve the goals. Much of it centered on a program to move people off of flat rate to metered water. As a reluctant and late adopter of the metered system I can attest to the high cost of flat rate water. I saved almost $2,500 per year when I called in the meter installers.I wondered whether the City report would ignore its own leakages of water and was pleased to see that this issue was addressed. On page 35 of the report there is a chart indicating the system leakage by year. Based on the chart, the city was losing about 12% of its system water through leakage in 2003. Not good but the report included a plan to reduce the leaks over time.Are the goals of the 30-in30 water plan achievable? They are making good progress. I think. But I don’t know because a recent news report casts doubt on the amount of leakage in the water system. Scott Strasser reports that the estimated leakage of water from pipes owned by the City of Calgary in 2022 was 22%[1] So what should we conclude? Have the leaks been getting worse? Did the 2007 report not represent the leakage accurately? Surprisingly, comparing Calgary’s leakage to Edmonton’s leakage cannot be made on an “apples to apples” basis according to City officials. They don’t say whether this is definitional or if the two cities are situated in radically different gravitational fields and so are subject to different forces.Sarcasm aside, the leakage discrepancy reinforces my belief that our Council, as the regulating body of all things ‘City of Calgary’, is doing a particularly bad job of the basics. It is up to us to sustain our water and yet our council oversees a large administrative machine that appears to be failing at that sustainability. I am told repeatedly to fix my toilets and taps and stop watering my lawn while the city throws away one liter of every five that it treats? How is this in any way acceptable? I also have some questions about the moral rectitude of writing reports that apparently misrepresented the water losses.And this council wants us to sign on to electric cars in every garage by 2035. Powered by what? Are the current transformers in Calgary neighbourhoods capable of such a power demand? Where is the plan for the new transformers? Will the overhead and underground wires support a doubling of power into each house? If your power lines come underground, how many of your neighbour’s driveways will have to be torn up to rewire your house? The estimate for such an upgrade is currently over $50,000 — just to get the wires into the house and not including any transformer upgrades.Maybe the city has a plan for all this work but is it an accurate plan? Does it fairly represent the current status of the electrical system or does it downplay the potential costs. Our city council was elected to provide policing, transportation, water, and power services. Instead, they are fixated on densifying our neighbourhoods, building hockey rinks for an elite and profitable sports team, pushing out cars to install little used bike lanes, and building an underground LRT station in an aquifer. I recommend that council stop being ideological and drop all plans for expensive, white elephant legacy projects. Rather they must focus on the basic functions of the city — at which they are currently failing. Mayor Jyoti Gondek was determined that Calgary would have a drought. She forgot to tell us that she would be the one providing it. We get what we vote for and this needs to be remembered at the next election.Murray Lytle PhD is a retired engineer with experience consulting around the world. He was also a permanent Member of the National Energy Board (now Canadian Energy Regulator).[1] https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-distribution-network-losing-billions-litres-water-year
Murray Lytle PhD is a retired engineer with experience consulting around the world. He was also a permanent Member of the National Energy Board (now Canadian Energy Regulator).In 2007, the City of Calgary produced a Water Efficiency Plan report called 30-in-30, by 2033. On its first page it states. “It’s up to us to sustain our water”. I presume the city included itself in that injunction. I base this presumption on the fact that the words “lead by example” showed up in a few places. The document presented a bold plan to expand city growth in terms of area and population while keeping the water drawn from the reservoirs constant at 2003 rates. Given that the city population has almost doubled since that time, the city certainly set a stretch target. The report was full of strategies and tactics to achieve the goals. Much of it centered on a program to move people off of flat rate to metered water. As a reluctant and late adopter of the metered system I can attest to the high cost of flat rate water. I saved almost $2,500 per year when I called in the meter installers.I wondered whether the City report would ignore its own leakages of water and was pleased to see that this issue was addressed. On page 35 of the report there is a chart indicating the system leakage by year. Based on the chart, the city was losing about 12% of its system water through leakage in 2003. Not good but the report included a plan to reduce the leaks over time.Are the goals of the 30-in30 water plan achievable? They are making good progress. I think. But I don’t know because a recent news report casts doubt on the amount of leakage in the water system. Scott Strasser reports that the estimated leakage of water from pipes owned by the City of Calgary in 2022 was 22%[1] So what should we conclude? Have the leaks been getting worse? Did the 2007 report not represent the leakage accurately? Surprisingly, comparing Calgary’s leakage to Edmonton’s leakage cannot be made on an “apples to apples” basis according to City officials. They don’t say whether this is definitional or if the two cities are situated in radically different gravitational fields and so are subject to different forces.Sarcasm aside, the leakage discrepancy reinforces my belief that our Council, as the regulating body of all things ‘City of Calgary’, is doing a particularly bad job of the basics. It is up to us to sustain our water and yet our council oversees a large administrative machine that appears to be failing at that sustainability. I am told repeatedly to fix my toilets and taps and stop watering my lawn while the city throws away one liter of every five that it treats? How is this in any way acceptable? I also have some questions about the moral rectitude of writing reports that apparently misrepresented the water losses.And this council wants us to sign on to electric cars in every garage by 2035. Powered by what? Are the current transformers in Calgary neighbourhoods capable of such a power demand? Where is the plan for the new transformers? Will the overhead and underground wires support a doubling of power into each house? If your power lines come underground, how many of your neighbour’s driveways will have to be torn up to rewire your house? The estimate for such an upgrade is currently over $50,000 — just to get the wires into the house and not including any transformer upgrades.Maybe the city has a plan for all this work but is it an accurate plan? Does it fairly represent the current status of the electrical system or does it downplay the potential costs. Our city council was elected to provide policing, transportation, water, and power services. Instead, they are fixated on densifying our neighbourhoods, building hockey rinks for an elite and profitable sports team, pushing out cars to install little used bike lanes, and building an underground LRT station in an aquifer. I recommend that council stop being ideological and drop all plans for expensive, white elephant legacy projects. Rather they must focus on the basic functions of the city — at which they are currently failing. Mayor Jyoti Gondek was determined that Calgary would have a drought. She forgot to tell us that she would be the one providing it. We get what we vote for and this needs to be remembered at the next election.Murray Lytle PhD is a retired engineer with experience consulting around the world. He was also a permanent Member of the National Energy Board (now Canadian Energy Regulator).[1] https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-distribution-network-losing-billions-litres-water-year
