Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas says there’s a “ticking time bomb” under the city’s streets, and that means a new reality for residents moving forward.
“This Bearspaw feeder main served Calgarians for many years, but right now, it is at end-of-life,” Farkas told CBC Radio’s Calgary Eyeopener on Monday.
“No amount of short-term fixes, no amount of patchwork will be able to get this back into a reliable condition.”
Last Tuesday, Calgary saw its second “catastrophic” water main break in the northwest in less than two years. That led to water restrictions and a boil-water advisory for several northwest communities, which were lifted late on Sunday.
Advisories had been in place for people in Parkdale, Montgomery and Point McKay and West Hillhurst since Dec. 30.
Calgary officials have scheduled an update on the repair to the water main today.
Farkas will speak alongside Calgary Emergency Management Agency Chief Susan Henry, and the city’s general manager of infrastructure services Michael Thompson.
Officials have urged residents to save water by taking shorter showers and reducing toilet flushing.
“The first Monday of 2026 is expected to mark a return to work and school for many Calgarians. We’re continuing to remind everyone to adjust their water use habits and help conserve our water system,” Henry said in a news release Sunday.
In a post on X on Monday, Farkas wrote that overnight, the city “slipped further” into the “red zone,” referring to an unsustainable range of water use.
“Without changes, we’ll enter loss-of-life territory, where firefighting and emergency response may be compromised. This is serious,” Farkas wrote.
“Reducing use now protects lives and keeps essential services running. Please conserve.”
Over the past number of days, Calgary’s water use has crept above the city’s goal of 485 million litres. That threshold is set to ensure water is available for consumption and for emergency response and firefighting.
Speaking to the Calgary Eyeopener on Monday, Farkas said council would receive some of the most recent inspection data just shortly before the scheduled 1 p.m. briefing.
“This is moving in such real-time that we want to make sure that we have the most recent, up-to-date information for Calgarians. But I think it’s fair to say that we’re living in a new normal,” Farkas said.
“We have to do absolutely everything that we can to address the immediate needs to fix [the feeder main]. But the medium-term and the long-term fix to this is both governance as well as building out that parallel line.”
The replacement project is scheduled to start in spring and run until about late 2028.
“We are replacing the engine of the aircraft while in mid-flight. But until that work is done, we need to change how we think about water. Not for a few days, not only during emergencies,” Farkas said.
“For a while, this is how life will be.”
The Bearspaw South Feeder Main supplies treated water to about 1.5 million people in Calgary and in surrounding communities.
