Caution Updated:

  • New! Calgary and surrounding areas must continue to conserve water for emergencies like firefighting. Flush only when necessary, do only full loads of laundry/dishes and take short showers. View more details.

Water main break

Last updated: Jan. 6, 2026, at 6:30 p.m.

What you need to know:

We continue to respond to the water main break on 16 Ave. N.W., east of Sarcee Trail.

  • Calgary’s water system is under significant strain: The mandatory  Stage 4 water restrictions remain in place as crews continue to work on the feeder main break. All Calgarians should continue to reduce indoor water use. Boil advisory has been lifted for Parkdale, Montgomery, Point McKay and West Hillhurst.
  • Temporary water outage: A service interruption to conduct inspections will take place beginning Wednesday morning and will impact 30 homes and one business in the community of Bowness over the next two days. Affected customers have been notified directly. 
  • Construction progress: Crews continue making steady progress, the affected pipe section was removed and is being inspected. Crews are now preparing the adapters to connect the new pipe section to the existing pipe. 

Stage 4 water restrictions

To ensure we conserve the water currently available, we are asking all Calgarians to conserve water immediately. 

Arenas, indoor pools and recreation centres:

  • Outdoor ice rinks cannot be flooded or constructed 
  • Organizations, such as recreation centres, will be asked to implement their water restriction plans. 

Top three ways to help save water indoors

We're asking Calgarians to focus on taking the following three actions that we know make the biggest difference to household water consumption.

Reduce toilet flushing. Only flush when needed. 

save water - short showers

Keep showers to three minutes or less.

save water - laundry

Only run the washing machine and dishwasher with full loads.


Traffic impacts

16th Ave N.W. eastbound has reopened partially

Effective immediately, 16th Avenue N.W. eastbound has reopened partially following inspection and coordination by City crews.

Motorists should continue to expect construction activity in the area while repairs are ongoing.

16 Ave N.W. partial lane reopening map
16 Ave N.W. partial lane reopening map

Flushing on Memorial Drive & 52 Street N.E.

Over the past few months, we have been upgrading a different feedermain at Memorial Drive & 52 Street N.E. This week, we are getting ready to bring that feedermain back into service, which will help improve our efforts to deliver water across Calgary.

To do this, crews will need to flush water through this pipe to make sure the water inside is safe to drink. Flushing removes sediment and mineral deposits from the pipes. It also removes any contaminants which may be present following a water main or service line repair.

Flushing starts January 6th and will continue for a few days. This means, even though we are still asking everyone to save water as repairs are made to the Bearspaw South Feedermain, you may see crews releasing water from fire hydrants in this area.

This is a necessary step for health and safety, and is unrelated to the Bearspaw break. For safety reasons, residents should keep a respectful distance from crews and allow them to focus on their work.


Latest updates

Regular updates from The City of Calgary. View all news releases.


Other main breaks and water outages

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
emergencies/gas-outage-leak,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null