Calgarians should be notified faster and kept better apprised when their water supply is threatened, argues one city councillor. Read More
Sonya Sharp said her motion was inspired by the fallout of the Bearspaw south feeder main rupture last June, which placed the community of Bowness under a days-long boil-water advisory
Sonya Sharp said her motion was inspired by the fallout of the Bearspaw south feeder main rupture last June, which placed the community of Bowness under a days-long boil-water advisory
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Calgarians should be notified faster and kept better apprised when a water main ruptures or their community is placed under a boil water advisory, argues one city councillor.
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In notice of motion at next Tuesday’s executive committee meeting from Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp, city administration would be directed to review and strengthen the city’s current customer service standards for when essential water services are disrupted, when service will be restored, and where they can access water in the interim.
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Her motion also requests a summary of current practices and performance targets for managing water-related disruptions, and a comparison of Calgary’s methods of public notification during such emergencies with other jurisdictions.
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Sharp said her motion was inspired by the fallout of the Bearspaw south feeder main rupture last June, which placed the community of Bowness in her ward under a days-long boil water advisory. She said the notifications Bowness residents received in the immediate aftermath were delayed, resulting in some initial confusion among homeowners.
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“It was very reactive,” Sharp said. “There were a lot of residents that did not know they had to boil their water. There were residents that were turning on their taps and their tap water was brown. And there were people that had no idea that there were water wagons (available).
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“There needs to be a mechanism where it’s a customer service piece that residents in Calgary would know that there’s water disruption, whatever that looks like.”
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Some suggestions Sharp cited include a proactive text message system similar to the province’s emergency alert system; more fulsome updates through 311 and online, or door-hangers that inform people about where they can get more information.
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She’s also calling for a tool that measures the number and duration of water service disruptions, as well as public feedback from Calgarians who were impacted by those events. The information would be reported back to council on an annual basis, starting later this year.
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While the feeder main rupture inspired the idea, Sharp said a more recent water main break in Bowness, which left 25 homes without access to potable water for a week, further reinforced the need for better customer service standards.
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“They did not have running water for showers, so they had to go to Shouldice pool,” she said, adding another provision of her motion is that Calgarians affected by essential water service disruptions should be given complimentary daily recreation passes so they can access shower services.