Data from feeder main continues to be evaluated
City officials urge residents to continue `using water wisely' as temperatures rise
Officials continue to crunch data received late last week from a pipe diver that examined the inside of the repaired water feeder main, as hot temperatures are expected to increase water demand in the city.
Nancy Mackay, the city's director of water services, said Tuesday's water demand was similar to expectations — at 611 million litres.
“The system remains stable today (Wednesday) and we are closely monitoring for pressure changes within the distribution system, signs of stress on the pipe and any other issues,” Mackay said.
Calgary remains under Stage 1 water restrictions that continue to limit outdoor water use, with temperatures at or near 30 C forecast for Thursday and Friday according to Environment Canada.
“We know that in hot weather water use tends to increase, so we encourage you to keep up using water wisely,” said Mackay. “It's a good practice all the time to make the most of your water use.”
Late last week and through the weekend, several additional wire snaps were detected along the feeder main — three on Thursday, one Friday, one Sunday and one on Tuesday.
Officials have said previously that wire snaps are not a sign of a new break being imminent, but they do allow them to learn how the feeder main is responding to pressure increases.
The pipe diver is a physical electronic device deployed into the feeder main early in July to travel its entire length and collect data. Officials received results on Friday last week.
“It looked at areas of the feeder main that we couldn't reach with our initial inspection because those areas were full of water,” said Mackay.
“Our analysis of the pipe-diver results has progressed and we're continuing our work to understand how they will inform our next steps for the pipe rehabilitation plans,” Mackay said.
On Tuesday, an engineering regulator announced it is conducting a practice review of the City of Calgary after the critical water main failure.
The practice review is not an investigation, but looks at engineering and geoscience practices of the city, searching for any evidence of unskilled practice or unprofessional conduct, according to the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta.