Water Restrictions in effect starting March 9
What you need to know
Reinforcement work
This spring, the Bearspaw South Feeder Main will be shut down for reinforcement work. During this time it will be critical for residents and businesses to use less water since the Glenmore Water Treatment Plant will supply most of the city and region and will be operating at maximum capacity.
No outdoor water use will be permitted at this time. We’re also urging Calgarians to take steps to reduce their indoor water use.
Get ready for water restrictions
- Start spreading the word about the upcoming restrictions with your family, neighbours and friends.
- Get into the habit of running the dishwasher or laundry with full loads. This helps reduce unnecessary water use without changing comfort or routine.
- Turn off taps and check your water meter. If the dial’s moving, you’ve got a leak.
- Check your toilets, taps, humidifier, hot water heater, water softener and other water-using devices for leaks. Get advice at Calgary.ca/waterguide.
- Get an early start on spring cleaning by tackling water-intensive tasks like mopping floors, deep cleaning washrooms and laundering large items like comforters.
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.
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Only flush when needed
Skipping three flushes saves about 30 liters.
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Take 3-minute showers
Every one minute you save in the shower saves up to 8 liters of water.
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Run full loads only
Only run the washing machine and dishwasher with full loads.
Other ways you can save water
Laundry room
Laundry room
Do laundry with full loads only
Reduce laundry
Reduce the number of laundry loads each week and switch the appliance to an eco-setting, if you can. Here are some suggested guidelines based on the number of people in the household.
How to do it
- Only use your washing machine when you have a full load.
- Wash only the clothes you need to get you through the week.
- Reduce your laundry by re-wearing clothing and reusing towels as much as you can.
How much water is used?
- Front load washing machine (per cycle) uses 62L
- Top load washing machine (per cycle) uses 112L
Bathroom
Bathroom
Flush only when needed
Reduce toilet flushing
Reduce the number flushes per day by adopting an if it’s yellow, let it mellow and if it’s brown then flush it down routine.
Adjust your toilet to use less water
If you don’t have a low-flow toilet, you can further reduce the amount of water used for each flush by putting a water displacement device (like a brick or a bottle filled with water) in the toilet tank.
How much water is used?
- Low flow toilet (per flush) uses 4.8L
- Non-low flow toilet (per flush) uses 6L
Keep showers to 3 mins or less
Showers and bathing
- Stick to a three-minute shower.
- Use a timer or listen to a single 3-minute song to help you stay on track.
- Switch to once every two days rather than daily showers.
- If you need to take a bath, keep it shallow.
- Turn off the tap when lathering your hands or face while washing, brushing your teeth or shaving.
- Use a cup to rinse your mouth and hands if needed.
- Fill the bottom of the sink basin with a little bit of water when you shave.
- Skip a hair wash or shave.
How much water is used?
- Regular showerhead (per 5 minutes) uses 47.5L
- Low flow showerhead (per 5 minutes) uses 38L
- Typical bathtub (per use) uses 92L
More ways you can save water
Fix leaky taps and toilets
- Inspect all faucets, showerheads, and toilets for leaks and repair them.
- Take the leaky toilet test.
- Use your water meter to check for and repair any fixture leaks.
- Take the leaky toilet test.
Cleaning
Where you can, wipe instead of wash and sweep instead of spray.
Kitchen
Kitchen
Wash dishes on a full load only
Reduce dishwasher loads
Reduce the number of dishwashing loads as much as you can each week and change the appliance setting to a shorter cycle. Here are some suggested guidelines based on the number of people in the household.
How to do it
- Only wash full loads.
- Cut down on dirty dishes by making meals that require little to no washing (e.g. barbequing), re-using cups throughout the day or even using compostable dishes over the next few weeks.
How much water is used?
Dishwasher (per load) uses 28L
More ways you can save water
Cooking
- Consider preparing meals that limit pots and pans, like barbecue or one-pot meals.
- Wash vegetables and fruit in a partially filled sink or pot and then rinse them quickly.
- Defrost food in the fridge overnight.
- Boil food in just enough water for it to be submerged.
- Keep a jug of drinking water in your fridge. Don’t run the tap to get ice-cold water.
- Turn off ice machines.
Washing dishes
- Use compostable plates and utensils to cut down on washing up.
- Scrape plates clean rather than rinsing off food.
- If washing dishes by hand, fill one basin part way with hot water for washing and the other side with part way with water for rinsing, instead of running the tap continuously.
Cleaning
Where you can, wipe instead of wash and sweep instead of spray.
Utility room
Utility room
Fix any leaks
The utility room
- Turn off your water softener.
- Turn off humidifiers.
- Service and repair appliances like water softeners, furnace humidifiers and hot water tanks.
Business
Are you a business owner?
We are also asking businesses, small and large, to conserve water in their operations.
Find out how you can reduce your non-essential water use based on your business type without compromising safety or quality.
calgary.ca/savewateratworkFrequently asked questions
How long will the restrictions remain in place?
We expect the Bearspaw feeder main will be out of service for approximately four weeks to complete this critical reinforcement work.
This includes the time to complete the repair and take the necessary steps to bring the pipe back into service (refill the pipe, conduct water quality testing and then stabilize the system by turning on pipes at the Bearspaw plant, which will increase pressure in the feeder main and start water flowing through our water system).
Will outdoor water restrictions be city wide or only in specific, impacted areas?
When water restrictions come into effect, they are implemented city-wide and apply to all residents, businesses and City operations because our water distribution system is interconnected throughout the city.
Is The City planning on shutting down car washes for this period of time?
Commercial car washes will continue to be allowed to operate. Most indoor car washes recycle around 85 per cent of their water.
We encourage drivers to wash their vehicles only when necessary for safety (to keep windows, mirrors and license plates clean).
How is the system operating while reinforcement work is underway?
Under normal conditions, Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant typically supplies 60% of the city and region’s water. But when the Bearspaw South Feeder Main is out of service for reinforcement work, it severely reduces how much water we can consistently supply to Calgary and surrounding region from this plant because this feeder main is one of the primary pipes that carries water from the Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant and feeds the distribution system.
As a result, the Glenmore Water Treatment Plant will be supplying the majority of the city and region’s water, approximately 75-80%, while the Bearspaw Plant will be able to contribute only 20-25% through the remaining available distribution infrastructure.
What happens if water demand exceeds what The City can supply?
Using more water that what we can supply puts added strain on the water system. This can lead to problems like reduced water supply for firefighting, water treatment plant issues, low water pressure, or the need for a city-wide boil water advisory.
With the reinforcement work set to begin on March 9 and taking place over four weeks, what impact will this have on our water supply?
We are planning to conduct these reinforcements just ahead of when the river flows will start to get higher, and we can refill the Glenmore Reservoir more quickly to support water supply and demand.
Right now, the reservoir storage has recovered well since the water main break in January, when the city had to draw much more water from the Glenmore Reservoir, and is now near full. Mountain snowpack is also higher-than-average this winter, so we expect to have a healthy supply heading in to spring when mountain snowmelt begins.
Once the reinforcement work to the Bearspaw Feeder Main is complete, will outdoor water restrictions still be needed?
We anticipate restrictions will be needed again in the fall when we tie in the new parallel pipe.
Outside of the reinforcement work planned, other scenarios outside of The City’s control, including another break in the feeder main or weather-related conditions such as drought or heat waves, may necessitate outdoor water restrictions and/or indoor water conservation as well. However, we are not planning to be in restrictions all summer long related to construction.
You can stay up to date on the conditions we’re monitoring on calgary.ca/drought.