City begins more repair work on feeder main without water restrictions

The city began another round of repairs on the Bearspaw south feeder main on Wednesday, causing traffic disruptions in some areas but without affecting Calgary’s water supply.

This latest work follows a pipe diver analysis—where a small device travels through the pipe—which identified new vulnerabilities in the aging feeder main that needed urgent attention. Officials expect repairs to continue into late November, with increasing traffic disruptions as the work progresses. “Performing this work now will help to lower the risk of another unplanned failure in the feeder main,” the city said in a statement.

Pre-construction activities started Wednesday, including removing medians along Crowchild Trail N.W. and Parkdale Blvd N.W., cutting into the pavement, installing fences, dismantling sound barrier walls, and closing certain pathways. These steps are necessary to prepare for the excavation process, which will involve exposing the pipe for repairs. Draining and excavation of the main pipe are expected to begin the week of Oct. 21.

The bulk of the repair efforts will take place in three key areas of West Hillhurst:

• Parkdale Boulevard N.W. between 26th and 27th Streets,
• The westbound off-ramp on Memorial Drive connecting to Crowchild Trail northbound,
• Brownsea Drive N.W. at the ramp to the Bev Longstaff West Hillhurst Pedestrian Bridge.

This marks the third time in five months that the city has had to repair the feeder main, which supplies water to much of Calgary. The first incident occurred in June, when a rupture led to Stage 4 water restrictions, banning outdoor water use and requiring a 25% reduction in indoor consumption for five weeks.

In August, the city faced another rupture, prompting similar restrictions for four weeks, though the public was given two weeks' notice.

Following the August incident, the city announced it is accelerating plans to prevent future disruptions and exploring long-term solutions. It is currently designing a new north feeder main, with plans to build a south feeder main as well. Both projects are expected to take eight years to complete, with construction occurring in phases.

However, city officials have acknowledged that they did not anticipate the initial rupture in June, which led to the water crisis.