Calgary has been underspending its water infrastructure budget for years, data shows

With Calgary's critical infrastructure under significant scrutiny, a city councillor is calling for the city to be more diligent about the amount of money it spends on water.

Ward 12 Coun. Mike Jamieson's concerns stem from data showing that the city has consistently spent below its multimillion-dollar water infrastructure budget every year from 2003 to 2024.

Those numbers, obtained by Jamieson from the City of Calgary administration and shared with CBC News, show the city's capital water budget has ranged from just over $235 million in 2003 — 54 per cent of which was spent — to about $627 million in 2009, which the city only spent 52 per cent of.

The city only came close to hitting its water infrastructure budget twice: in 2016 and 2024.

“We have to spend the money that council approves, and we have to be diligent about that," he said.

The money that wasn't spent on water infrastructure — which includes feeder mains, treatment plants and water lines — carries forward and can't be redirected from its original purpose without council approval, according to the City of Calgary.

A state of local emergency was declared in 2024 after the Bearspaw south feeder main — the city's primary water pipe — ruptured.

The following year, the water main experienced a second catastrophic failure, with 16th Avenue N.W. being flooded.

A road closure was put in place in northwest Calgary last Friday following the detection of more wire snaps in sections of the Bearspaw south feeder main.

"I believe that if we would have spent more money on the infrastructure [when it was approved], we wouldn't be in this mess," Jamieson said.

The city is aiming to have the construction of a parallel steel pipe, designed to be the same size as the existing Bearspaw feeder main and to take over service of Calgary's water system from that line, completed by the end of 2026.

"I think it's fantastic that this kind of energy is going to be put into infrastructure spending now, because I believe that's really what Calgarians want," Jamieson said. "I think the average taxpayer wants their money spent on the boring stuff, which is infrastructure, core services."

A report presented to city council last week found that $18 billion of Calgary’s infrastructure assets are in poor or very poor condition, including bridges, roads, transit and water pipes.

Repairing the city's water main network, including the Bearspaw south feeder main replacement project, will cost an estimated $1.2 billion over a 10-year period, according to the report.