Calgary water crisis: City closer to ending outdoor water ban, says tests of new pipe going well

Calgary is edging closer to allowing residents to resume using sprinklers and water hoses.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek says recent stress tests of a replacement water main are going well.

She says the city may be able announce as early as Thursday they are lifting the ban on outdoor watering for the city and surrounding communities.

The ban has been in place for over a month.

It began after the city’s north-end water main ruptured on June 5th.

In recent days the city has been ramping up the water flow pressure on the new pipe to test its resiliency, particularly after a number of reinforcing wires broke.

Gondek says the water flow has been ramped up from 55 per cent of its normal rate to 70 per cent.

“We have not detected any new wire snaps,” Gondek told a news conference Wednesday.

“The water team tells me we remain on track to potentially move to Stage 2 on Thursday … however we are still carefully monitoring.”

A ban on indoor water use was lifted weeks ago, but residents are still not allowed to use sprinklers or soaker hoses to water lawns and gardens or use hoses to clean driveways and wash windows.

They can use watering cans for gardens, shrubs, trees, and plants.

If the city moves to Stage 2 on Thursday, those outdoor water restrictions lift.