Work on Calgary feeder main paused as 2 workers injured amid city’s water supply crisis

One week after the City of Calgary issued a critical water supply alert following a catastrophic water main break, the city’s mayor said repair work on the feeder main has been paused after two workers were taken to hospital.

“I have difficult news to share with you this morning,” Mayor Jyoti Gondek said in an on-camera statement Thursday morning. “Two people were injured on site overnight. Both were taken to hospital and neither are in critical condition.

“Crews instituted an immediate safety stop, and work on the pipe hads been halted. … We expect that repair work on the feeder main will not resume before this afternoon.”

Gondek added that the city has a team working with Alberta Occupational Health and Safety.

Earlier this week, emergency officials offered a rough timeline for repair work on the feeder main and said they hoped to have that work completed on Thursday sometime.

Flushing and filling the pipe is expected to take another three days, and preparing to allow for water flow into the city’s reservoirs is expected to take a couple of more days.

As a result of the break last week, Calgarians across the entire city were told to stop using water outdoors and do their best to minimize indoor water use.

“The work that these crews have been doing has been invaluable in getting our water back to normal,” Gondek said on Thursday. “And I want to thank all of them for their very hard work.

“Our hearts are heavy at the city this morning.”

More to come…

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