A warm welcome to all as we start to wrap up an eventful spring and summer! As we look forward to the fall, I thought it important to highlight the ways in which our great community came together in June and July this year.
On June 6, 2024, our community woke up to a City of Calgary Feeder Water Main Break. In Montgomery at MCA, and we saw the field behind our local community centre and the parking lot flooded with water. You saw the first photos here in our July newsletter. You can imagine the surprise. The focus shifted rather quickly from the Housing Strategy and the largest public hearings in the City’s history specific to Blanket Rezoning in April and May, to getting reports directly from the mayor’s live feed about this emergency. I personally want to extend a big thank you to Brenda Annala our Neighbourhood Partnership Coordinator with the City who helped by ensuring I was included in the communications about this.
We were thankful that the City of Calgary crews were on the scene promptly, and around the clock, helping pump water out of the area, getting prepared to repair the section of the very large pipe and eventually completing the repairs.
In concert with the City of Calgary’s response, we received a Government of Alberta Critical Alert Drinking Water Advisory (Water Supply/Infrastructure) affecting Calgary, Airdrie, Strathmore, and Chestermere. We found out we were dealing with an unprecedented, massive, water main break.
When this very large, feeder main pipe broke in the Montgomery/Bowness area, this created a sizeable ripple-effect causing a problem with moving water around the city. This meant pumping water from the Glenmore Dam instead of from the usual source. Other smaller leaks were identified too, and various technologies were employed to find points of concern along the pipe. The largest damaged section of the pipe was about 78 inches.
In Bowness, the water was temporarily unsafe to drink, and a one-minute boil water advisory was implemented for our neighbouring community. Our thoughts went out to them as they worked together with the City of Calgary to ensure they had enough water for their daily needs. Potable water was brought in for them. By June 10, 2024, Alberta Health Services (AHS) had determined that water quality in Bowness had been restored, and the boil water advisory had been lifted.
On June 15, 2024, Mayor Jyoti Gondek, Chief Sue Henry of Calgary Emergency Management agency (CEMA), and Nancy McKay, Director of Water Services, announced that because of several critical factors, the decision was made to declare a city-wide state of emergency. We were asked to get water for non-drinking, outdoor use (non-potable) from several sites across the city, including Baker Park if we needed it.
Still, it was heart-warming and important for all to see Neighbour Day in Bowness move forward despite the circumstances. So too did other city-wide events like Indigenous Week and the Jazz Festival. These were important, to help ease the minds of many who were understandably anxious and concerned.
As we all became more aware of the magnitude of the problem, we slowly got used to hearing about the excavating and repair efforts of the City crews, and we all adapted in our own ways as traffic was rerouted from the Highway right into our Montgomery neighbourhood. Many had to find alternate places to park their vehicles, and we all made room for that as we could. Our usual walking paths were cordoned off for a time, but we worked around it and made the best of it.
The biggest call to action by Mayor Jyoti Gondek was for all of the residents in Calgary to immediately, and voluntarily, reduce indoor water use by about 25%. Thanks to the efforts of many, including Calgary businesses and the City of Calgary recreation facilities, we exceeded that target for several weeks. We flushed toilets only when we had to, stopped doing dishes and laundry as often, and collected water outdoors for use outdoors. We took showers that were shorter or skipped them more often. Some of us decided to purchase water so as not to overburden the system and support our community. I personally feel that making this voluntary and not mandatory, was an excellent call on the mayor’s part because each of our circumstances are different.
On that note, I’d like to thank the many residents in our area who are already very good water stewards, conserving water year-round in a variety of ways. This, for them, was an easy thing to do, and giving others water-saving tips was one way we helped out. I know I use very little water outdoors and catch rainwater to do the watering I need to do.
By July 3, 2024, the voluntary indoor water restrictions were lifted, with a caution to go slowly. Many parents with young children breathed a huge sigh of relief along with the rest of us who couldn’t wait to take our usual showers and have our usual clean clothing available. When the July record high temperatures hit, the City of Calgary Parks department decided to open certain outdoor pools. Although we remain in Stage 3 outdoor water restrictions at the time I’m writing this, this step was an important one for many. A reminder that as of July 15, all City spray parks and all outdoor pools including backyard pools and kiddie pools are not allowed. Please check the City of Calgary’s website directly for updates.
Read in our newsletter an article from Elizabeth Laishley on the Discount program for members and information about Business Memberships with MCA. Please note the important article from George McMullen regarding the Treasurer role. I’d like to thank our staff, especially David Hoskyn, who helped me ensure our summer newsletter went out as planned.
Click here to the Montgomery Community News home page for the latest Montgomery community updates.
