City officials plead with Calgarians to use less water amid feeder main repairs

City officials are again urging Calgarians to cut back on their water use as feeder main repairs ramp up, warning that failing to do so could jeopardize the water system and lead to boil-water advisories.

With Tuesday marking the second day of Stage 4 outdoor water restrictions in the city, officials appealed to citizens to reduce their water use by 25 per cent. 

The daily water-use target for the city is 450 million litres, but on Monday it reached 533 million litres.

Though Monday's usage level showed a 75 million-litre decrease from the day before, the city says more still needs to be done, as excess usage could jeopardize Calgary's water system as a whole.

"This drop shows that many of you are taking the right steps to limit your water use, and I want to sincerely thank you for making those adjustments,"  said Michael Thompson, the city's general manager of infrastructure services.

"However, while yesterday's numbers are heading in the right direction, they are not at the level we need to sustain our water supply.

"With the feeder main out of service, we simply do not have enough water if we do not lower our water use."

After the city revealed the Bearspaw south feeder main — the underground highway that moves 60 per cent of Calgary's treated water across the city — needs additional repairs following its rupture on June 5, Calgary and the surrounding communities that depend on its water supply have been moving through various stages of water restrictions. 

Calgary has not been under Stage 4 water restrictions — the most restrictive stage — since July 6, when officials eased back to Stage 3. 

"Water use numbers from this morning showed an increase in water use in line with what we would see under Stage 1 outdoor water restrictions, well above the threshold we are planning for," said Thompson on Tuesday.

"If you have not started to reduce your use, now is the time."

Under Stage 4 restrictions, no treated water is permitted for use outdoors.

When it comes to indoor use, there are no mandatory restrictions, but the city is asking individuals to voluntarily conserve water via these three steps:

Thompson also added that the city needs everyone's water conservation co-operation in order to make it through this newest round of restrictions.