Boil water advisory disrupts businesses, residents in southwest Calgary neighbourhoods

Hundreds of homes and businesses in southwest Calgary are boiling their water after a service line broke on Friday. Mark Villani reports.

A boil water advisory affecting hundreds of homes and businesses in southwest Calgary is forcing residents and local organizations to adapt, as city officials warn the precautionary measure could remain in place for several days.

The advisory was issued Friday afternoon at the direction of Alberta Health Services for roughly 500 homes and businesses in the community of Spruce Cliff and nearby areas of Wildwood and Rosscarrock.

According to the City of Calgary, the advisory was triggered after a water service line broke on private property Friday morning.

While crews were shutting off water to the affected property, the process disrupted a nearby water main supplying drinking water to the wider area.

Water service was restored Friday afternoon, but health officials ordered the boil water advisory as a precaution.

Residents and businesses in the affected area have been instructed to bring tap water to a rolling boil for at least one minute before drinking it, brushing teeth, washing food or making ice.

The city says the advisory is expected to remain in place for at least three days while testing and monitoring continue.

Officials also stressed the situation is unrelated to the ongoing work on the Bearspaw South feeder main.

Businesses scramble to adapt

For some local businesses, the advisory arrived during one of the busiest weekends of the year.

At the Spruce Cliff location of Pie Junkie, staff were preparing for Pi Day — March 14 — when demand for the bakery’s signature pies typically spikes.

Owner Nancy Goemans said her team managed to stay open by pivoting quickly and relying on bottled water.

“I think we got a little lucky on the boil water advisory, because yesterday we had no water and we had to prep, so we bought a lot of bottled water yesterday and used that to do all the fillings and make all the dough and everything yesterday for today,” Goemans said.

“We had to do everything to keep moving, so we do have bottled water still and in case anything needs to be made, we’re boiling water, we have safety stations, hand sanitizer.

To help encourage customers despite the advisory and cold weather, the bakery has since offered a special 10 per cent off promotion at all Pie Junkie location for all of Pi Day.

“I do anticipate less customers because these types of things are difficult, I think with minus 15 weather and the poor roads, they’re going to make our day a little bit challenging for us,” Goemans said.

“But we’re doing this just to sort of manage the stress and to still be happy about Pi Day.”

Meanwhile, the advisory has also forced some businesses nearby to scale back or shut down operations entirely.

At Westbrook Mall, several tenants were affected Saturday.

A location of Starbucks in the mall was closed for the day, while the nearby Boston Pizza continued operating with limited service.

Staff at the restaurant say they are unable to serve fountain soda, tap water or mixed drinks because of the advisory.

Instead, beverages such as soft drinks are being sold by the bottle, and kitchen staff are boiling water before using it to prepare menu items.

Theatre keeps the show running

At Jubilations Dinner Theatre, the water disruption posed an even bigger challenge.

The dinner theatre relies heavily on water for food preparation, beverages and washrooms — all essential for a full-service entertainment venue.

Syreeta Bennie, vice-president of Jubilations and the nearby Aussie Rules Piano Bar, said staff had little time to respond after learning about the problem Friday morning.

“We had a sold out night last night, and we wanted to make sure that nobody’s experience would be affected,” Bennie said.

“So we worked our butts off yesterday to try to find an alternative, to have a safe water supply for our guests, because we didn’t have an ETA on when the fix might be ready.”

The company ultimately arranged a temporary water solution with help from a local business.

“We were able to partner with a really great company called Big Rock,” Bennie said.

“They came in, their team did an amazing job. We drilled a hole into our building so that we could get direct access to the best water possible, and we were able to run the show last night without a hitch.”

The decision allowed performances to continue, but Bennie said the costs are significant.

“Let’s just say we’re doing this so that the guests have the best experience possible,” she said.

“It’s a big hit financially, but it’s totally worth it because that’s how much we value the guests and their experience.”

The theatre expects the disruption to cost roughly $15,000 this weekend alone.

Bennie also said communication from the city about the situation was sometimes challenging.

“It’s really hard to run a business with no communication because we don’t know how long this is going to last,” she said.

Senior’s centre forced to close temporarily

Community organizations have also been affected.

At Bow Cliff Seniors, Friday afternoon activities had to be cancelled when the water supply was cut off.

Executive director John Yannitsos said the centre typically hosts dozens of seniors on Fridays for social activities.

“Friday afternoons is one of our busiest days for operations,” Yannitsos said.

“I was anticipating 60 people coming, and then all of a sudden, I get informed by one of my team members, ‘there’s no water.’”

Without functioning washrooms, the facility had no choice but to close.

“We’re a seniors activity centre. A facility with no washrooms couldn’t be open, even though everybody wanted it to be open,” he said.

Saturday’s planned Spring Fling bridge tournament however was still about to continue, but organizers had to improvise.

“We got the ‘all clear’ from the city to operate but under a boil water advisory,” Yannitsos said.

“So we went to Tim Hortons, got the big crates of coffee and started serving it up. We’re doing the best we can. We got water bottles here too.”

The gathering is more than just a social outing for many participants, he added.

“Social isolation among seniors is part of the epidemic mental health crisis among seniors,” Yannitsos said.

“So, we’re adapting so that our seniors have the ability to socialize — they’ll go through 30 below, they’ll go through a tonne of snow just to be here. This is incredibly important for their own mental health.”

Residents adjust at home

For residents in the affected neighbourhoods, the advisory has meant small but noticeable changes to daily routines.

Spruce Cliff resident Cindy Roberts said she began boiling water Saturday morning after learning the advisory could last several days.

“This morning, I got up and boiled some water, and I will be going out soon to buy some bottled water,” she said.

Roberts said the situation is inconvenient but manageable, adding that overall communication from the city has been helpful.

“We did get a text yesterday from the city just kind of advising what was going on,” Roberts said.

“And we have a neighbourhood Facebook page for Wildwood and Spruce Cliff and they’ve been sending things from the city as well.”

Neighbour Jim Goodchild said his household first noticed the issue when their water stopped running Friday morning.

“My wife found in the morning that we had no running water,” Goodchild said.

“We first checked our own property and made sure it wasn’t a leak in our property. Then she started looking up and down the block.”

Water service returned later that day, but Goodchild said the advisory itself came as a surprise.

“The biggest concern is we didn’t have notice that there was a boil water advisory until we saw the wagon roll in front of our house,” he said.

“We thought the water was back on, we thought it was fine.”

Despite the inconvenience, he said most residents understand that problems can happen.

“The water restrictions are a nuisance, but we understand why the city’s doing that,” Goodchild said.

Advisory expected to last at least three days

In its latest update Saturday, the City of Calgary said the boil water advisory remains in effect for about 500 homes and businesses in Spruce Cliff and small parts of Wildwood and Rosscarrock.

Officials say crews must flush water pipes and conduct water-quality testing across the affected area before the advisory can be lifted — a process that takes a minimum of three days.

Residents may also notice crews releasing water from fire hydrants as part of that flushing process, which the city says is a necessary step for health and safety.

Officials added that while the incident is unrelated to the Bearspaw South feeder main project, ongoing water conservation efforts across Calgary have helped ensure there is enough water in the system to complete the required flushing work.

Water wagons remain available in the affected neighbourhoods for residents who need access to safe drinking water while testing continues.

In the meantime, health officials advise residents to boil tap water for at least one minute before using it for drinking, cooking or brushing teeth.

Anyone with health-related questions about boil water procedures is encouraged to contact Health Link by dialing 811 or visit Alberta Health Services online for guidance.