Calgary investigating wastewater leak in Bow River

Andrew Jeffrey · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 29, 2025 6:47 PM EDT | Last Updated: 14 minutes ago

The city is investigating however an unintentional wastewater leak into the Bow River occurred.

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek notified the nationalist connected Saturday that investigating results the metropolis received connected Friday from the Bow River adjacent the Bonnybrook Wastewater Treatment Plant indicated discarded had leaked into the river.

Crews identified a leak from a sewage pipe on the river's eastbound bank, crossed from the Bonnybrook works by the Ogden Road bridge. Gondek said connected Saturday that the tube liable for the leak was recovered wrong 3 hours, valves to the tube were closed and wastewater was diverted to 2 different pipes successful the area.

After contacting Alberta Health Services and Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, Gondek reassured Calgarians that no h2o advisories are needed.

"Our drinking h2o is safe, hazard to the nationalist is low and we contained this contented wrong 3½ hours," Gondek said.

However, the metropolis did counsel radical and their pets to debar interaction with the affected country of the river, adding that food from the country should beryllium cooked earlier it's consumed.

Crews volition proceed to show the river, investigating h2o prime and investigating the root of the leak.

Doug Morgan, Calgary's wide manager of operational services, said a imaginable occupation was archetypal noticed connected March 19 erstwhile little wastewater than accustomed was recovered to beryllium flowing to the plant.

His squad began looking astatine imaginable causes similar seasonal fluctuations, problems with the works oregon outer factors similar leaks on its 5,000-kilometre wastewater system, but recovered nothing, portion the wastewater travel continued to drop.

After trial samples connected Friday showed elevated E. coli levels successful the stream adjacent Bonnybrook, a ocular inspection of the Bow River's eastbound slope led to his squad uncovering the leaking pipe.

"It truly was an contented with inflow into the h2o attraction plant, and there's tons of factors that tin effect that," Morgan said.

"Generally, erstwhile we person a wastewater break, it's beauteous apparent, 311 comes successful rather quickly. This was thing different, and we conscionable tried to nail down each the variables arsenic we worked done the process."

Morgan said downstream communities similar Siksika Nation and Heritage Pointe were notified astir the leak. He added helium expects the h2o to retrieve quickly.

The metropolis plans to supply further updates connected the concern erstwhile it learns much astir the leak.