Latest update on resotring Calgary’s water supply

and let’s go live to Calgary and City officials are providing an update on those water main repairs they’re close all of the things that we have done to band together when we Face any type of a serious situation today you can add another win to your list you answered the call to action and dramatically dropped your water usage yesterday we used 460 million lers which is a 23% reduction to what we typically consume thank you sincerely for understanding what we needed to do together to ensure that water could continue to flow to all of our homes and businesses and be available for critical situations for life-saving measures whether in hospitals or through the fire department I very much appreciate you Calgary and the surrounding areas it Bears repeating that our feeder m is not back in service yet we still have work to do and let me explain why this stage is so important even though you can’t see repair work happening at ground level there are four steps that we need to take before a safe water supply can be restored from the bearspaw treatment plant the pipe needs to be filled then flushed then water quality needs to be tested and then we begin to stabilize the network great news on step one filling of the pipe was completed at 6:00 p.m. yesterday we started flushing the pipe shortly after that and that work carries on today once the once the line has been flushed Alberta Health Services will test the water quality which includes a 24-hour turnaround for that testing once the water quality is deemed to be high we will ease pressure in the pipe back upwards towards regular flow when we know the system is stable after turning the pressure back up that’s when we will advise you that the network is restored and you can begin leaving those water savings efforts behind but again we will advise you when it’s okay to go back to regular use think of it this way if you’ve ever had an invasive surgery or you know someone that has had one you know that after the final stitches are done there is still post-operative care that takes place just because you have had your stitches done it doesn’t mean that the journey is over your doctors won’t let you go back to normal immediately right now the work sites have been stitched up they’ve been backfilled and they’ve been paved over and our water crews are now doing that postop care the filling the flushing the testing and the stabilizing just as your doctor wouldn’t let you get back to regular activities until everything is stabilized after surgery that’s the position we are in with the feeder man now let’s talk about what you may see on the ground today if you are in or around the area where this work is happening on flushing last night our dedicated Crews began pushing or flushing treated water through the feeder man this step is essential to remove remove any of the sediment that may have entered the pipe during the repairs and this is to ensure that our water is clean and safe what you may see is flushed water exiting through Valves and fire hydrants in and around edworthy Park and the point McKay area this water is being dechlorinated before it is put back into the river system and we want to assure you that we are working very closely with Alberta environment and protected areas to ensure the health of the river we are carefully monitoring where the de chlorinated water is entering the river Downstream and we’ve also taken uh great precautions to ensure that erosion and sediment controls are in place to protect the riverbank yesterday we heard from Alberta Health Services about the testing process there are three specific parameters that AHS looks at to determine if water is safe for consumption and these include looking at chlorine levels Clarity of the water and any bacteria that may be found in the test whenever there’s a water M break these are the three parameters that are tested to ensure that water is safe to drink now once the pipe has been flushed health professionals will collect samples and test the water for these three parameters the testing at the lab will take at least 24 hours for the results these data will then be reviewed to ensure that water is safe for consumption if the water meets all safety standards we can proceed to The Next Step which is stabilizing the feeder man and the entire water Network by looking at easing up the pressure to regular levels but we need the all clear on water quality before we can move to stabilization and that may involve more than one test and one round of flushing that’s why the timeline is our best estimate and we still need to be saving water daily our priority through all of this has been to restore safe and clean drinking water while crews are finishing the work of flushing testing and stabilizing our water system of us need to keep up the good work we’ve been doing and do our part in this you and I still have a very big role to play and that involves keeping up what you’ve been doing to limit your water usage by doing things like shortening your showers and limiting laundry until you have a full load of Essentials every decision that you have made to limit water has been important your role in this work of water restoration matters as you enjoy the long weekend please continue to be good humans who are using less water than usual make sure you’re able to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather we are anticipating and make some plans for Canada Day Celebrations on Monday I want to end this morning by acknowledging all of the individuals who have been working tirelessly to get our water Network back up to regular usage you’ve shown remarkable commitment many of you have sacrificed family time you’ve had long hours that involve late nights and early mornings and we know that you’ve been giving us everything that you’ve got in that same way I know that we can return the favor and give you everything that we’ve got as good people in Calgary erre Strathmore chesterr and sutina Nation we will keep saving water to make sure that we can get the system back up and running as quickly and safely as possible we’ll have another update for you at 2 pm today at the emergency Operation Center until then be well be good water stewards and please keep taking care of each other you’ve been listening to an update from the mayor of Calgary jod gondek on the water main repairs they are getting so close to having it back up to normal they’re flushing right now they’re going to be testing for chlorine and Clarity and bacteria and once they get the green light for all that then it will be back to normal but they still have some work to do looks like it’s still maybe Canada day before they’re ready to go

Calgary Mayor Gondek gives an update on the next steps for restorting water supply in the city.

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