WC146 JanFeb 2026 - Magazine - Page 13
help utilities answer questions are available from CWWA.) Then share how you
address each threat, or share any current
strategies such as final lead removal programs or the mapping of asbestos-cement
pipe. Then consumers can be made aware
of any additional steps they can take
themselves such as lead removal or simple
home filter systems.
City of Calgary
Challenges to reliability
As our water infrastructure systems
continue to age, we are seeing more and
more system failures that severely disrupt
water services. In our sector, 2024 has
become known as “the year of infrastructure failure.” Everyone watched the saga
of the catastrophic water main collapse in
Calgary and its effects on that city. Citizens faced dramatically reduced access
Everyone watched the saga of the catastrophic water main collapse in Calgary and its e昀昀ects on that city.
to water for months. Meanwhile, similar
Citizens faced dramatically reduced access to water for months
system failures occurred to varying degrees in Vancouver, Edmonton, Iqaluit,
Montreal, and many more. In Ottawa, a water main break
forced the cancellation of surgeries at the children’s hospital.
Then there were the natural disasters that have plagued our
communities over the past decade. Major flooding in Calgary,
lower B.C., Winnipeg and Toronto; heat waves and droughts in
B.C. and southern Manitoba; and the forest fires that seem to
be everywhere and anywhere now. These catastrophes severely
impact our systems …and they are occurring more frequently
and with greater intensity.
Perhaps the one good thing to say about these failure events
is that they force us to realize how important these systems are.
Only when a service is disrupted do most of us think about how
critical that service really is. “Never let a good disaster go to
waste” is the saying. So now is the time to talk to your communities about resiliency—how we can try to prevent failure, how
we can best prepare for failure and how we can recover better.
And it doesn’t have to be “your” disaster to learn from it.
Challenges to affordability
Now the concept of virtually free water had to be challenged
by those of us within the industry. For a century, the costs of
treating and delivering safe drinking water, then collecting and
treating wastewater were hidden from the public.Everything,
from the initial installation of systems to their operation and
upkeep, were subsidized within broader municipal, provincial
and federal budgets. The true, full costs of the service were
never reflected in the consumer’s water bill… until about 20
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