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Although it isn’t the water main at the centre of Calgarians’ attention, a major piece of infrastructure for the city’s northern neighbourhoods has received a multi-million dollar boost from the federal government.
Calgary-Confederation Liberal MP and parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Corey Hogan, joined city officials on Tuesday to announce a $29 million contribution to the North Calgary Water Servicing project.
“The ability to turn on a tap and receive drinkable water is a miracle of modern civilization that’s become absolutely mundane, most of the time,” Hogan said.
“But as Calgarians, we unfortunately know too well, it’s not always mundane. It’s mundane until availability and reliability is challenged.
“I’m just so glad that working with the city, we’re able to bring a little more mundane into the lives of Calgarians.”
The federal funding, from the Build Communities Strong Fund, is earmarked for the first stage of the North Calgary Water Servicing project, where shovels got in the ground last fall in northwest Calgary.
The first stage includes the construction of nearly several kilometres of feeder main, as well as upgrades to connect existing facilities such as the Top Hill Reservoir, Big Hill East Reservoir and Mountain View Pump Station.
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“That will go into operation next year, providing 30 million additional litres of water to Calgarians from the Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant,” said Michael Thompson, the city’s general manager of infrastructure services.
The project has a total budget of $533 million. The first phase is set to cost $123 million, with $94 million of that coming from city funds.
At full build out, expected in 2029, the north feeder main is slated to run 22 kilometres and include up to 10 support facilities between the treatment plant connecting to the Northridge Feeder Main at 144 Avenue and 14 Street N.W.
According to city officials, the project will deliver 100 million litres of drinking water to north Calgary communities when it’s complete, and that could increase to more than 400 million litres daily once a new water treatment plant is built.
“This is a great first step in delivering increases in infrastructure for Calgarians, to move more water to Calgarians and provide additional redundancy so that if we do have issues, there’s a backup in place that people can rely on,” Thompson said.
The reliability of Calgary’s water system has been top of mind for many due to two critical ruptures along the Bearspaw feeder main: a major line that carries 60 per cent of the city’s drinking water.
Fast-tracked construction continues on replacing that feeder main, which is set to be complete by the end of the year.
To help pay for the projects, city council approved a $609.5 million increase to the upcoming budget, as well an expansion of the city’s borrowing capacity by more than $500 million to help cover the water infrastructure projects.
City officials said at the time the move will result in a 14-per cent rate increase in 2027, or an additional $17 monthly.
Calgary mayor Jeromy Farkas said Tuesday’s announcement marks a key step in improving the city’s water infrastructure, but noted more collaboration would be required with other orders of government to pay for it.
“We’re going to continue making the case for not just Alberta’s fair share of funding from the federal government but also Calgary’s fair share of investment from the provincial government,” Farkas told reporters.
City officials noted temporary outdoor water restrictions may be required starting Sept. 15 related to the North Calgary Water Servicing Project, but that will be dependent on weather conditions and water demand.
A final decision is expected to be announced next week.
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