Rob Breakenridge: How Calgary screwed up a city's most basic job

... and why other Canadian cities might be screwing up, too

By: Rob Breakenridge

It was a report prompted by one crisis, but it was against the backdrop of yet another crisis that the report finally saw the light of day.

And now the good people of Calgary could be forgiven for wondering how many more crises they’ll be forced to endure before the serious water-supply issues identified in that report are finally addressed.

That worry is compounded by the frustration of now knowing that the city spent two decades sleepwalking into disaster. The new, bleak reality of a “water system in a precarious condition for an unacceptably prolonged period” was very much an avoidable one.

If nothing else, Calgary’s woes can at least be a wake-up call for other Canadian municipalities. Unfortunately, as we’ve now learned, bureaucratic and political denial, procrastination, and apathy are not so easily overcome. Let’s not pretend that is a Calgary-specific phenomenon, either.

The report in question stems from an independent panel’s review of the catastrophic failure of Calgary’s Bearspaw South Feeder Main in June of 2024. That same line has once again suffered a catastrophic failure.

It’s a critical part of the system, carrying approximately 60 per cent of Calgary’s water. With that line out of service, the rest of the system can no longer handle normal demand. The 2024 failure led to months of water restrictions, and the spectre of another lengthy stretch of restrictions once again hangs over the city — with no guarantee that things won’t get markedly worse in the interim.

The independent panel’s report has provided a valuable service in both tracing the mistakes of the past while also warning of the potential disasters that lie ahead if nothing changes. It’s a report that’s equal parts ugly, scathing, frustrating, and depressing. The mistakes and missteps are laid bare, but it’s unclear if anyone will be held to account.

There sure seems to be plenty of blame to go around, though. Much of this could have and should have been dealt with two decades ago. In 2004, a separate line — the McKnight feeder main — suffered a serious failure, briefly cutting off water to 100,000 residents.

The review stemming from that crisis foresaw the problems looming down the road. As this report notes, “these assessments had concluded that the PCCP portion of the (Bearspaw) main was vulnerable due to its age, design and material composition, and posed a significant risk to system integrity” and furthermore that “repeated internal reviews, external studies and condition assessments confirmed the vulnerability.”

Yet, as the report concludes, “risk response mechanisms were not triggered and vulnerabilities were not addressed.” Even more recently, opportunities to avert a crisis were missed: “the line was designated for inspection in 2017, 2020 and 2022, yet no inspections occurred as requests for inspection were repeatedly redirected or delayed.”

So why was this neglected so badly and for so long? There’s the obvious passing-of-the-buck and kicking-the-can-down-the-road factors, where no one wants to be the bearer of the bad news of an expensive and disruptive water main repair or replacement. Fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong, and let someone else down the road deal with all of this.

As per the report, these factors were pervasive and the belief or hope that the Bearspaw line probably wouldn’t fail led to resources being directed elsewhere. It was a combination of “external pressures, risk and asset integrity processes, ineffective management, and a lack of effective governance oversight.”

There’s been a cost to that inaction, however, as water leaks have worsened over the years as the system was neglected. That’s good water down the drain, so to speak, and another ignored harbinger of what was to come.

Panel chair Siegfried Kiefer suggested that it would be difficult or unfair to lay blame on any specific individuals, pointing a finger instead at “incomplete processes” and “poor information.” Basically, elected officials didn’t get all the information they needed, but what they did get should have spurned much more in the way of action.

It’s unclear where recriminations will fit in alongside the now mammoth tasks of expensive and lengthy infrastructure work, a restructuring of water management at city hall, and the culture change needed to ensure that it’s not all for naught.

This is the kind of thing we all take for granted: the idea that our local governments can provide a reliable supply of safe, clean drinking water. It’s a bare minimum expectation, arguably. If you’re not getting that right, then what the hell are you doing?

In the meantime, Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas is pushing for city council to adopt all of the panel’s recommendations, regardless of cost. It’s not just the money, though, but also the political will to see it all through on an expedited basis.

Calgarians are left wondering how long they’ll have to take three -showers and how many flushes and laundry loads they’re supposed to skip. Or, for that matter, to wonder why the burden falls on them when so many water-intensive businesses continue to operate. Then again, how much more should businesses suffer when the city can’t get its own act together?

Social cohesion could become another casualty here, not to mention Calgary’s own aspirations. If the system can barely provide for the current population, what does that say about Calgary’s ability to grow? Some forecasts have Calgary hitting two million residents by the end of the decade — do we have enough water or the ability to deliver it to that many people? Will businesses second-guess their own relocation to or expansion within Calgary?

Not every city is in the same boat, but other Canadians certainty should not take for granted that their own community couldn’t face a similar crisis.

The report does note that other communities across North America actually did learn from their own challenges. When similar pipe failures occurred in other cities, “many of them undertook mitigation programs and efforts.”

Calgary has learned the hard way that it is not one of those cities and it is paying the price for that. Hopefully this is Canada’s last such cautionary tale.

Rob Breakenridge is a Calgary-based podcaster and writer and host of The Line: Alberta Podcast. He can be found at robbreakenridge.ca and and reached at rob.breakenridge@gmail.com

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