Cars stranded on the Trans-Canada Highway after a water main break in Calgary, on Dec. 31, 2025.Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
Frustration is mounting in Calgary as residents grapple with what is likely to be another protracted water crisis after a second catastrophic rupture of one of the city’s two main pipes that transport drinking water.
Disbelief and some choice words first came to mind for Kellie Freeman on Tuesday night when she first heard that the Bearspaw South Feeder Main – described by the city’s mayor as the “beating heart of our water system” – had burst, sending water pouring onto the Trans-Canada Highway.
“I’m in utter shock and disbelief right now,” said Ms. Freeman, who is president of an advocacy group for businesses in the northwest community of Bowness, near the site of the break.
Business owners in the area are afraid customers will disappear, she said, as people avoid neighbourhoods where road closures and boil-water advisories are now in place. “People are going to start shopping elsewhere ... that’s a huge fear.”
Calgary’s latest water crisis started Tuesday when, for the second time in 18 months, the feeder main unexpectedly ruptured, sending concrete debris airborne and nearly 80 million litres of water gushing into the streets.
About 3,100 households are under a boil-water advisory. Officials have suggested repairs will take seven to 10 days, but damage is still being assessed.
Chris Huston, Calgary’s drinking water distribution manager, said on Thursday that residents will need to reduce their water consumption for the “next several weeks.” The city is asking people to take shorter showers, run dishwashers and laundry machines only when full and flush toilets less.
On Wednesday, more water was used than the city can produce or store, which would eventually deplete Calgary’s water supply if sustained. The city returned to sustainable water demand on Thursday.
On Friday, Calgary Emergency Management Agency chief Sue Henry said in a news release that water demand will likely increase next week when the school year resumes and people head back to the office.
“It’s important that we don’t creep back into that red zone and put our system under more strain,” Ms. Henry said.
Calgary residents asked to conserve water after rupture of water main
Alejandro Solano, owner of Salt & Pepper restaurant, located not far from where the water main burst, said fewer people have stopped by his joint in recent days. People had avoided the area when the pipe ruptured in 2024 because they believed it had shut down the neighbourhood, he said.
Despite being in close proximity to the damaged pipe, his business is not currently under a boil-water advisory.
But Mr. Solano said the intensity with which the water main broke on Tuesday night has shaken his faith in Calgary’s infrastructure.
“I was like, ‘Jeepers, what’s underneath that? What if your house was there?’” he said.
Premier Danielle Smith, at an unrelated Friday news conference, blamed current Alberta NDP Leader and former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi for neglecting the city’s water infrastructure.
“When you ask the question, ‘Well, huh, who was the mayor after the floods of 2013 until he decided to retire?’ And that was Naheed Nenshi,” said Ms. Smith.
In 2013, four people died and more than 100,000 people were forced from their homes after heavy rainfall caused severe flooding and inundated parts of Calgary. Total damage exceeded $5-billion by some estimates, including significant repairs to city infrastructure.
Calgary issues boil water advisory after water main break floods streets
Mr. Nenshi, in a Friday interview, said the early days of a crisis are not the moments to cast blame and added that the materials used in Calgary’s water pipes – like in many other cities – are beginning to reach the end of their useful life.
“If I was not the leader of Alberta’s New Democrats, would the Premier’s first response be to blame me? And of course, the answer is no,” Mr. Nenshi said.
Ms. Smith also pointed to an unreleased independent report commissioned by the city that investigated the 2024 rupture, which has become a point of contention since the pipe burst this week.
Mayor Jeromy Farkas said on Thursday that the panel writing the report has requested a few extra days to finalize it. A group of councillors have “threatened” a special meeting if it’s not released in a timely manner, Councillor Kim Tyers said on social media.
Mr. Farkas said repairs to the main pipe, along with new water infrastructure, will be built at an unprecedented pace. The city is embarking on two “megaprojects” that include building a six-kilometre feeder main parallel to the current pipe that will take on much of its capacity.
After the 2024 break, an analysis by The Globe and Mail found that nearly one-quarter of drinking water pipes in Canada’s largest cities were near the end of their useful life, putting pressure on cities to foot potentially enormous bills to fix them.