Construction begins on mitigation measures for potential Bearspaw feeder main break

The hole in the ground along Calgary’s 16th Ave. NW is nearly filled, and water is starting to trickle through the maligned pipe once again.

As crews begin the days-long process of restoring service through the pipe, they’re also busy working on contingency plans — in case it happens again.

“We are turning the corner,” Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said on Thursday.

“But I want to be very clear, we’re not in the clear yet.”

City officials continue to express a lack of confidence in the pipe that burst on Dec. 30, plunging thousands under a boil water advisory and resulting in water restrictions for the entire city that are expected to continue into next week.

Beginning Friday, workers at two sites along the north bank of the Bow River began working on a pair of projects in case this most recent break in the infamous Calgary feeder main isn’t the last.

Story continues below advertisement View image in full screen One project protecting the city from a future break in the Bearspaw feeder main involves carving out two outflow channels from the Bow River flood barrier near Montgomery Blvd. Global News

The first project involves removing two parts of the soil berm that forms the Bow River flood barrier near Montgomery Blvd NW.

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“This flood barrier is meant to keep river water out of the community,” explained Sue Henry, Chief of Calgary’s Emergency Management Agency.

“But if there is a break in the pipe, it would also trap water in the community.”

View image in full screen Part of the Bow River pathway is closed off as an excavator begins to dig out the flood barrier near Montgomery Blvd. SW on Friday. Skylar Peters / Global News

With spring and potential flooding of the Bow River looming, Henry says crews will be able to plug these sections quickly.

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“As long as they have valves, so when the river goes up, water doesn’t go into the Bow View Manor,” said Steve Pride, who was watching the work while visiting the seniors facility on Montgomery Blvd. NW Friday.

Further to the east, crews are placing a long line of temporary barriers between the buried pipe and the Parkdale community along a 400m stretch of the Bow River pathway.

View image in full screen A zoomed-out look at both mitigation projects, including the temporary barriers (right) being put up in the Parkdale community. Global News Trending Now

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Both projects are aimed to protect homes and businesses.

“We cannot guarantee this pipe will not fail again,” Henry said.

View image in full screen Workers begin to stretch a long line of large sandbags along the Bow River Pathway near the Parkdale community, forming a barrier between homes and businesses, and the buried location of the Bearspaw feeder main. Skylar Peters / Global News

City officials say the pressurizing of the feeder main — which will happen after the pipe is filled and the water is tested — is the riskiest step of bringing the infrastructure back on line.

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Crews on these sites will aim to have this work done before that happens some time next week.

The city says the construction will come with some temporary headaches. Both sites were abuzz with construction noise Friday afternoon, and Montgomery Boulevard was closed to traffic in front of Bow View Manor except for essential traffic.

Adjacent sections of the Bow River pathway are also facing detours.

With the threat of water now coming from both sides of the flood barrier, instead of just the river, folks who spend time in the area are happy to see something being done to protect it.

“The berm has a lot of folks taking advantage of it in the summer — in their wheelchairs!” Pride exclaimed. “It’s a beautiful setting.”

Henry says the measures are only temporary, but the city is working on a solution that will protect these Calgarians from another break in the water main — which is a distinct possibility over the next couple of years until a steel replacement pipe is built.

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