'We are at risk of running out': Calgarians asked to use 25% less water than yesterday

After a major feeder water main break plunged Calgary's water supply into a critical state, city officials are now asking Calgarians to use 25 per cent less than they did yesterday, sounding the alarm that the city is at risk of running out.

The Bearspaw south water main — which is 11 kilometres long and as wide as two metres in parts — suffered a break Wednesday night that left hundreds of homes and businesses in the city's northwest without water.

Just before 7 p.m. Wednesday, the break caused streets to suddenly flood in the Montgomery area around Home Road, forcing the closure of several roads and intersections, including 16th Avenue in both directions.

In a news release sent Friday morning, the city says it is hopeful crews will be able to determine the cause of the break at some point on Friday.

During a press conference on Friday morning at the city's Emergency Operations Centre, Nancy Mackay, the city's director of water services, said while Calgarians were able to reduce their water use during the day on Thursday, the city's water use peaked again in the evening hours once people returned home from work.

"This current level of water use cannot continue," said Mackay.

"If we do not reduce our water use even further, we are at risk of running out."

The Stage 4 water restrictions remain in place, and the city continues to maintain a mandatory outdoor watering ban. Officials are also asking Calgarians to limit their non-essential water use by taking these additional actions:

When asked about possibly invoking mandatory indoor water restrictions, Mackay said that the city is still only asking Calgarians to "scale back where they can."

"The one thing that we do know about Calgarians is that they do step up."

A boil-water advisory for the community of Bowness remains in place. The boil-water advisory requires all residents and businesses in Bowness to bring water to a rolling boil for at least one minute before any consumption, including:

The city has placed nine water wagons around the Bowness area in these locations:

The citywide fire ban is also still in effect.

As of Friday morning, bylaw officers had attended eight calls for fires and 56 calls for misuse of water.