The Calgary Chamber of Commerce is “deeply concerned” that the City of Calgary has entered a State of Emergency caused by the deterioration of Calgary’s main water feeder pipe, particularly given the issues will take an additional three to five weeks to resolve.
“We urge the City to work closely with the business community to mitigate this impact, including by providing additional guidance and clarity to ensure water usage can be decreased sufficiently to avoid potential restrictions. Calgary’s businesses stand ready to do their part and continue to demonstrate efforts to conserve and recycle water,” said Deborah Yedlin, President and CEO at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.
“The urgency of this situation cannot be overstated, particularly with the Calgary Stampede a few short weeks away. We strongly encourage the City to mitigate disruptions to ensure our visitor economy and international reputation are unhindered by the current crisis. Generating $272 million in economic impact, the Stampede is a critical time for businesses across several sectors, and any interruptions could have substantial economic repercussions. This is particularly acute for tourism and hospitality sectors that are still working to make up for several challenging years through the pandemic.
“Finally, we call on the government to collaborate closely with the business community to address the growing infrastructure gap. As Calgary’s population continues to significantly increase each year, it is crucial to ensure our infrastructure keeps pace. Proactive investments and planning are necessary to support sustainable growth and prevent similar issues in the future. The Chamber stands ready to work with all parties to develop solutions that will benefit our city for years to come.”
Keyli Loeppky, Director, Interprovincial Affairs for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said businesses, like residents, have been asked to voluntarily limit indoor water use, with the city providing specific guidelines based on the type of business.
“In some cases, businesses that use significant amounts of water for their operations, like carwashes, have been asked to stop operations on a temporary basis to conserve water,” she said.
“While we haven’t received extensive feedback from our members on this issue yet, we are grateful that the City has acknowledged the critical need for water in certain businesses, like restaurants, and has provided necessary exemptions. We are also pleased to see the City approach noncompliance through education as opposed to enforcement. Small businesses, like all Calgarians are hopeful that the City will fix the feeder main swiftly so that their operations can return to normal.
“Small businesses can do their part by following the City’s guidelines and recommendations for limiting water use. For instance, restaurants are advised to only provide water upon request, and to ensure that staff are trained to minimize water loss during food prep and cleaning.
We emphasize the urgency of resolving this issue. It’s crucial that the City prioritizes fixing the problem so that businesses can return to normal operations. Additionally, we urge the City to allocate resources and focus spending on maintaining and improving our core infrastructure to prevent similar problems in the future.”
City officials said now more than ever they realize that summer events and festivals are not only important for the economy, but they are also critical to the community and cultural connections. They add vitality and vibrancy to the city and are a destination for visitors who want to experience what the city has to offer.
Important festivals, conferences and events will go ahead, including the Calgary Stampede. The City said it is working with the Stampede and other event organizers to ensure they don’t impact the water use during this critical time. These events will look slightly different this summer, but they will proceed, added the City.
“The show will go on, but it will go on in a very responsible manner,” said Calgary Stampede CEO Joel Cowley. “The Calgary Stampede is part of the community and we share the concerns of Calgarians regarding the current situation. At our heart we are an agricultural society and we, along with our contestants and exhibitors who bring their animals here from throughout North America, are part of that community. There are no greater stewards of natural resources – especially water – than those in that community.”
The City of Calgary said it has reviewed the five-year daily water demand trend during the 10-day Calgary Stampede and there is no significant uptick in demand noted. This is due to two factors – during Stampede many Calgarians are traveling elsewhere for their summer vacation. The City said water use is weather dependent and from past years, early July can bring big storms reducing Calgarians need for outdoor watering.
Tourism Calgary President and CEO, Alisha Reynolds said summer is a critical time for the tourism industry.
“Calgary is open to visitors and we look forward to welcoming them in a responsible way,” said Reynolds.
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the City needs to talk to partner organizations as well as businesses to help them understand what they can do to reduce water usage. She said residents in the city consume two-thirds of the water in the system.
In a tweet, the Ship & Anchor Pub shared what conservation efforts it has put in place since the news of the water main break:
- It is only pouring water when requested;
- It is using its dishwasher as sparingly as possible, and maximizing every load;
- It is keeping its bar wells low on ice, and using ice sparingly in beverages in order to minimize the refilling of its ice machine;
- Buckets are set up on its patios to catch leftover water from customer water bottles/glasses to use for plant watering.
“Additionally we are working with our plumbing company to re-wire the auto-flushing in our bathrooms to shorten the time taps run with each press,” said the business.
“We recognize that we all need to do our part to mitigate water use while the city navigates this emergency.”
