Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Calgary is lifting city-wide outdoor water restrictions put into place this summer. The Stage 1 outdoor water restrictions were declared on Aug. 15 amid dry conditions and record-low natural flow levels on the Bow and Elbow rivers. At the time, the city said it was an important measure to help sustain Calgary’s water supply in the Glenmore Reservoir.
The City of Calgary says it is lifting its outdoor water restrictions, but it's still asking residents to use water wisely. Officials say the restrictions, which have been in effect for two months, will be removed Tuesday. They were implemented in mid-August due to record low flows in the Bow and Elbow rivers that supply the city and other downstream communities across the Prairies.
Five days after a contractor damaged water and sewer lines that forced a community near Calgary to declare a state of emergency, repairs are underway. On Oct. 21, the City of Cochrane revealed that an unnamed contractor, doing work to twin the town’s sewer line, “impacted” sewage and water lines while preparing to drill. The two ruptures sent sewage and water into the Bow River, Cochrane and Calgary’s water source. The significant loss of water reduced the town’s water availability.
A town west of Calgary says it continues to truck in water from other communities to maintain its required levels. The Town of Cochrane has declared a local state of emergency after an accident Saturday affected its water and wastewater pipelines, causing sewage to flow into the Bow River. Officials in both Cochrane and Calgary, which draw water from the river, say the drinking water remains safe.
Cochrane has declared a state of local emergency after water line breaks drained the town’s water supply — alongside sewage — into the Bow River, and town officials are pleading with residents to cut back on water use. At a news conference Tuesday, town officials said the effects of the break in water and wastewater lines Saturday have depleted water reservoirs to “critical levels.”
Calgary officials are monitoring the city’s water supply following a sewer pipe leak in a municipality upstream on the Bow River, but the city says its tap water remains safe to drink. Alberta issued a biological hazard advisory late Saturday, stating a main sewer line break within the Town of Cochrane was causing an overland sewage discharge into the Bow at a bridge along Highway 22.
A main sewer line break occurred yesterday in the town of Cochrane, causing an overland sewage discharge that flowed into the Bow River at the Highway 22 bridge. Cochrane drinking water is not affected by the sewage and remains safe to drink. Stacy Loe is the executive director of protective and community services for Cochrane. She said the town found out about the problem at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
A new channel carrying river water to the lagoon in the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary is expected to revitalize a key wildlife habitat. The southeast park was heavily damaged by the 2013 flood on the Bow River. Since then, there have been cleanups and a rebuilding of the park infrastructure. A study was done to come up with ways to revitalize the area and enhance things like flood and erosion control. The plan included constructing a new channel that carries water from the Bow to the sanctuary's lagoon.
Lake Newell, a reservoir south of Brooks, Alta. that helps feed water to farmland as well as various municipal, industrial, wildlife and recreational areas, is less than half the level it should be heading into winter. The lake is a part of the Eastern Irrigation District (EID), an area east of Calgary bound by the Red Deer river to the north, and the Bow River to the south. On Sept. 25, EID shut down its irrigation season roughly two weeks ahead of when it normally would, due to dry conditions throughout the summer that have strained water supply.
Calgarians’ outdoor water use is being limited to two hours per week as the city faces continued drought conditions, officials announced Tuesday. It’s the first time the city has imposed such restrictions due to dry conditions, with water flows in the Bow River at their lowest level since 1911 and the Elbow River since 2000, said Nicole Newton, the city’s manager of natural environment and adaptation.
The City of Calgary says it has moved its drought monitoring dial to dry from normal. It says the decision is based on tracking of precipitation levels, reservoirs and lake levels, stream flow rates in the rivers and water demand. "Despite the moments of intense rainfall through July, our monitoring team continues to see impacts of this year's dry conditions across Calgary and the region," Sarah Marshall, the city's water resources planner, said in a statement.
Despite recent rainfall over Calgary, conditions are still drier than usual, leading to concerns over low water flows in the region. "The flows in both the Bow and Elbow Rivers continue to be well below normal for this time of year due to the low snowpacks and early snowmelt in the Bow and Elbow River Basins, as well as ongoing dry conditions," the City of Calgary said in a statement Friday. "Reservoirs upstream of Calgary are currently filling and the Glenmore Reservoir is being held at full supply level to proactively manage water supply in anticipation of a hot, dry summer."
Low water flow in the Bow River has forced the Eastern Irrigation District (EID) to issue a water use restriction for the County of Newell. The EID says they have seen a dramatic drop in average river flow levels in both the Bow River and Highwood River this year. In a typical year flow in the Bow River starts to drop off by the middle and end of July. This year the EID says the Bow River dropped by the beginning of June.
It’s been 10 years since the historic floods of southern Alberta that were deadly, expensive and resulted in the first ever declaration of a State of Provincial Emergency in Canadian history. Over 100,000 people were evacuated from their homes in communities throughout southern Alberta and five people lost their lives. There was more than $5 billion dollars in damages and 55,000 square kilometres of land was directly impacted by the floods; an area nearly 70 times the size of Calgary.
The Town of Cochrane’s existing license to withdraw water from the Bow River is set to reach its maximum level in as little as four years, throwing into question how current rates of growth may be sustained in the near future. The province put a stop to any applications for new licenses in the South Saskatchewan River Basin (which includes the Bow River) in 2006.
Booming growth in Cochrane, Alta., is putting pressure on the town as it edges closer to maxing out its water licence capacity. Like other municipalities in the region, the town relies on a licence to draw the water it needs from the Bow River. But with no new water licences being granted by the provincial government and a growing population, the community needs solutions.
It's an uncommon sight to see in January. A group of nearly 20 people, in their bathing suits, gather along the banks of the Bow River to plunge into the icy waters. While a midwinter dip might not be at the top of everyone's to-do list, it's become a ritual for those participating. "I was fascinated by it. I thought it to be a crazy activity," said Lucas Ramage. "I started this not thinking that it would be part of a regular health routine, but immediately I can see it has a bit of an addictive nature."
Environmental advocates say a proposed suburban development in southeast Calgary would be built on a environmentally sensitive area. There are concerns construction could mean the destruction of thriving natural wetlands and a riparian area along the Bow River. Ricardo Ranch is a 570-hectare area south of Seton. Its area structure plan was approved by city council in 2019. In July, the city gave the green light for three communities in Ricardo Ranch: Seton Ridge, Logan Landing and Nostalgia.
A project that will help the town of Okotoks and Foothills County secure a long-term water supply will receive a provincial grant of $15.9 million, Alberta Minister of Transportation Prasad Panda announced Wednesday. The project, a water pipeline that will feed from where the Highwood River meets the Bow River into water treatment facilities in Okotoks and Foothills County, will receive the funding through Alberta's Water For Life program. "It's still a little surreal that we're here. I always knew we would get here, but we've had lots of stops and starts," said Okotoks Mayor Tanya Thorn, who was elected to the top job last November but sat on town council for the previous eight years.
Members of Alberta's Hindu community are asking the City of Calgary to provide a designated spot along the banks of the Bow River to scatter the ashes of loved ones, in line with their faith. It's traditional in Hinduism and other religions, including Sikhism, for ashes to be placed into flowing water after a cremation. Similar riverside spaces for the ritual have been provided around the world in cities that have large Hindu communities.
