If you remember counting shower minutes last winter, this one's for you.

The Bearspaw South Feeder Main is the large water pipe that carries treated water from the Bearspaw plant into the city. When it broke, Calgary went to Stage 4 water restrictions and every household was asked to cut back, Signal Hill included. The City is now building a brand-new pipe right beside it, so the old one can be retired.

Where it stands

As of the City's September 24 update:

  • About 3.7 km of tunnelling is done, under 16 Avenue, the Bow River and the CPKC rail line.
  • The new steel pipe is installed from the Shaganappi Pump Station to 73 Street N.W. (the first of two stages).
  • Crews are now finishing valve chambers, welding and connections to get it ready to carry water.
  • The City expects the replacement to be complete in December 2026. The second stage runs on from 73 Street to 89 Street N.W., possibly all the way to the treatment plant.
The new pipe will gradually take over from the old one. The goal, in the City's words, is to "reduce the risk of feeder main issues or failures", which is what put the whole city on restrictions.

What it means for you

Nothing to do right now: the City isn't asking residents to change anything for this work. If that changes when the new pipe is switched on, we'll post it here and in the Signal Hill View, the same way we did last winter.

Questions go straight to the project team at [email protected], or call 311.

Follow the project on calgary.ca →

See what's being built near you

The City has also opened a new infrastructure hub with an interactive map of every capital project, from roads and pathways to parks, water and rec centres. Zoom in on Signal Hill and the west side to see what's planned or under way nearby, and what the construction impacts will be.

Open the City's infrastructure hub →  ·  Capital projects map →