Brief shutdown of Bearspaw water main coming in September for Calgary region

Residents of Calgary and surrounding communities, freed nearly five months ago from water restrictions, are being warned of another possible shutdown.

Mayor Jeromy Farkas says the Bearspaw feeder main is to be closed for less than a week in September.

He says it’s to complete electrical work on a new pumping station — not because Calgary is running short of water.

The feeder main provides 60 per cent of treated water for the 1.6 million residents of Calgary, nearby municipalities and the Tsuut’ina Nation.

The pipe failed in June 2024 and again in December 2025, and for months people were urged to take shorter showers and reduce toilet flushes.

“This is planned work,” Farkas said in a social media post Thursday. “This is part of the north Calgary water servicing project.”

He said any restrictions this time will be much easier for residents to deal with.

“Whether we need restrictions in September will depend on the weather and how much water Calgarians are using at the time. If restrictions are needed, we expect some outdoor water use would still be allowed.”

Farkas says the final work on the feeder main is to happen in October, when there will be about four more weeks of water restrictions.

“We are on track to complete the replacement of the Bearspaw South Feeder Main in a single year. This is the fastest a project of this size and complexity has been delivered in Canada and likely anywhere in North America, if not the world,” he said.