Calgary Lifts Water Restrictions After Feeder Main Repairs

Calgary has lifted water restrictions across the city and surrounding communities after completing emergency repairs to the Bearspaw South Feeder Main, officials announced Thursday. The feeder main, which delivers about 60 percent of the city's treated drinking water to its 1.6 million residents, was shut down for three weeks starting March 9 to address damage from a December rupture.

Crews reinforced nine sections of the aging pipe, refilled it with water over the weekend and conducted testing that confirmed the system's stability and the safety of the drinking supply. Pumps at the Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant were activated Tuesday, allowing water to flow normally again. Residents had been urged to conserve by taking shorter showers, reducing toilet flushes, laundry and dishwashing loads to preserve reserves for essential uses like firefighting. The city relied on the smaller Glenmore Water Treatment Plant during the shutdown, which limited overall capacity.

The restrictions marked the third such measure in less than two years, following major breaks in the same feeder main in June 2024 and late December 2025. Those incidents caused widespread flooding, prompted a state of...