Wastewater spilled into Bow River following pipe leak

Sewage from a pipe carrying wastewater to a treatment plant in southeast Calgary has spilled into the Bow River, contaminating the water body — a mishap the city on Saturday said was contained within three hours. The city learned about the leak Friday morning after test results of the river showed high levels of E.coli.

The city then found the wastewater had leaked from one of three pipes carrying untreated sewage to the Bonnybrook Wastewater Treatment Plant which was turned off by 2:30 p.m. on Friday.



The other two pipes have been able to handle the additional flow. The plant generally treats wastewater and releases them into the river. The city immediately contacted Alberta Health Services, who later confirmed drinking water is safe to use.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek, who made the announcement Saturday, said she was disappointed city administration informed her of the incident Friday evening, several hours after the city had discovered the leak. “The flow of information was disappointing,” Gondek said. “But I called for a briefing at 8 p.

m. after I was able to leave an important community event.” She postponed the press conference to Saturday afternoon, as the city awaited confirmation from AHS about the safety of its water systems.

“I made the decision to hold this press conference today to provide you the transparency and the accountability that you expect,” she said. The city’s general manager, Doug Morgan, said the city first detected hints of the issue on March 19 when the plant recorded wastewater levels lower than normal. “We began looking at potential causes for those lower levels to see if there they could be explained by normal seasonal variations, issues with a plant, or other factors,” Morgan said.

Although levels dropped each day, the city couldn’t detect the cause. “So started to look for external factors,” he added. The city singled out the leak after they turned to testing water from the river.

Morgan said E.Coli levels have now returned to normal after the city addressed the issue. Morgan couldn’t identify the cause of the pipe leak on Saturday, adding the city is investigating the issue.

He also didn’t confirm the volume of wastewater that entered the river. Nor could he provide a timeline on when the river at or near the site would be reusable. hmansukhani@postmedia.

com.