Calgary lifts indoor water restrictions, outdoor ban remains after water main break

Crews continue to work to repair a major water main break and five other weak spots in Calgary, Saturday, June 22, 2024. Indoor water use can return to normal in Calgary and its surrounding communities.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

CALGARY — Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek says the city is no longer asking residents to restrict their indoor water use stemming from a major water main break.

Gondek says residents can resume the normal number of showers, toilet flushes and loads of laundry and dishes.

But a mandatory ban on outdoor water use, such as lawn-watering, remains in effect.

The city and surrounding municipalities have been under the water restrictions since a water main that supplies 60 per cent of the drinking water ruptured on June 5.

Crews have been scrambling to repair the breach ever since, and that work was further complicated when five more weak spots in the pipeline were discovered.

During that time Calgarians were asked to reduce water use by 25 per cent to keep enough in reserve for hospitals and firefighters — and Gondek says for the most part Calgarians met those targets.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2024.

The Canadian Press