Water System

The City of Calgary Water System provides safe reliable drinking water to a variety of customers. It serves almost 260,000 residential customers, 20,000 industrial, commercial and institutional customers as well as customers in the surrounding communities of Airdrie and Chestermere. In order to provide this valuable resource to all these customers, the City of Calgary operates, maintains and enhances a world class utility with a complex system of treatment plants, water mains, reservoirs and pump stations.

Water Distribution

Calgary Waterworks operates and maintains the Glenmore and Bearspaw Water Treatment Plants, 30 pump station sites to 37 pressure zones, 12 finished water storage reservoir sites with 19 basins, nearly 4000 kilometers of pipes and over 260,000 service connections.

To optimize the service that Calgarians receive, The City of Calgary Waterworks has an ongoing Leak Detection Program and a Main Replacement Program. Through these programs, Waterworks attempts to proactively reduce the amount of treated water that is lost each year due to leaks and main breaks.

Water Supply

The two sources for Calgary's drinking water are both surface sources. The Bow River supplies the Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant and the Elbow River flows into the Glenmore Reservoir, which is the source of water for the Glenmore Water Treatment Plant. The Bearspaw Plant primarily supplies water to the north sector of the city, while the Glenmore plant supplies the south. However, the water supply from the two plants is interconnected through large diameter transmission mains to ensure a reliable supply at all times.

The City of Calgary Waterworks withdraws water from these two river systems according to demand and within parameters set out by Alberta Environment. It is careful not to exceed its licenses for daily and annual withdrawals and are also careful to maintain enough flow in the river systems to support other users of the water system both within Calgary and downstream of the city. Almost all of the water that is removed from the Bow and Elbow Rivers for use within Calgary is returned to the Bow River system after treatment in Calgary's wastewater treatment plants.

The City of Calgary: Water & Sanitary Sewer Rates