When it comes to fixing and moving on from the water and sewer leaks that precipitated a State of Local Emergency (SOLE) in Cochrane last week, it seems ‘it ain’t over til it’s over.’
The incident causing the leak occurred on Saturday Oct. 21 around 6 pm at Riverfront Park. The SOLE was declared on Oct. 24 and lifted Oct. 26, after the water pipe had been fixed and the storage reservoirs were back up to safer levels.
Water was hauled in from Harmony and Calgary to restore the reservoir levels.
The SOLE declared Tuesday morning provided the Town with the power to direct and control response efforts, as well as coordinate with the province.
On Oct. 24 Mayor Jeff Genung said the Town was ramping up it’s call to citizens to restrict water use even more than what was called for earlier. He said the previous voluntary Level 3 request wasn’t enough, and that water levels for such things as emergency fire suppression were now at a critical state.
“That’s not working, to be quite frank. Yesterday we saw the single highest water use day in the month of October, and it was not related to the leak – it was people consuming water from the reservoirs,” he said.
Town officials sounded guardedly optimistic the next day that they were making progress repairing the leak. There were breaches to two pipes in the same area – a water line and a sanitary sewer line, making repair efforts more challenging. The effluent into the Bow River was a mixture of treated water and sewage.
Then on Thursday the Town announced the water pipe had been fixed, the reservoirs were up to safer levels and the State of Local Emergency (SOLE) had been lifted.
Throughout the week, they reassured residents that water quality was never compromised.
Mayor Jeff Genung was visibly relieved when he opened the daily news conference Thursday.
“I’m happy to report today we have some good news to share – perhaps it’s evident with the body language in the room or just the energy in the building today . . . the positive trends in our water reservoir levels, coupled with the successful isolation and control of the recent leak, as well as the unwavering commitment of our community towards conservation have provided us the data required to officially lift the State of Local Emergency,” he said.
Cochrane once again had enough water for vital fire suppression efforts – a critical milestone, which was always the key.
He went on to recognize the 24/7 commitment of Town staff and the contractor onsite, who have been working nonstop since the previous Saturday night.
“I’m just so proud of them. When people lean in together, this is the outcome.”
The director of the emergency coordination centre Shawn Polley provided details, and recounted the story of a woman who brought some baking into the Emergency Coordination Centre which she baked using water from melted snow.
“It means a lot,” he said, his voice breaking slightly.
Genung said people pointing to the incident as an example of one of the outcomes of extreme growth were wrong.
“We could have had a million reservoirs around our community and this situation would have had the same outcome,” he said.
“We were planning for redundancy, we were planning for future capacity, a situation just like this. It was just really bad timing and luck for the community,” he said.
On Monday Oct. 30, the Town issued an update that said in part that active repairs are underway to the watermain.
The water leak is apparently fixed, but the sanitary sewer line that was discharging into the Bow River for a couple of days remains in need of repair.
“During this time, residents are encouraged to use the water they need, but kindly requested to be conscious of our precious resources,” the statement read.
The Emergency Command Centre remains active, and the incident call centre is transitioning to regular operations. Inquiries can be directed to Cochrane reception at 403- 851-2500. This phone line will be staffed during regular business hours, Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
The Level Three Water Restriction still in effect as of press time Oct. 31, entails the following measures:
- No Bulk Water Sales: Bulk water sales are temporarily suspended to preserve our water resources.
- No Outdoor Watering: Please refrain from any outdoor watering activities until further notice.
- Ability to Adjust Water Pressure: The Town retains the capacity to adjust water pressure as necessary to manage our water system effectively.
The following road and pathway closures remain in effect to support the repairs and safety of crew:
- All pathways adjacent to the Bow River from Riverfront Park to Griffin Industrial Point. This includes the Jim Uffelmann Memorial Park.
- West Side Drive between Quigley Drive and West Rock Road and a section of Riverview Drive near Griffin Road West.
Somewhat ironically, the contractor was working on installing an additional syphon pipe – a project designed to enhance municipal infrastructure. Upon completion, the syphon project is expected to double Cochrane's wastewater management and transfer capacity. Whissell Contracting Ltd. from Calgary is the company working on the siphon project.
For additional information, progress of the repairs, changes to the water restriction or inquiries go to Cochrane.ca/emergencyresponse. or Cochrane.ca.
The Eagle put in requests on Friday and Saturday for more information on how the Town plans to pay for the repairs, and what environmental monitoring is being done by the Province, but as of press time had not received responses from the Town or Alberta Environment and Protected Areas.
