Former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi says city council was never informed that the city’s water system was considered high risk in 2017, despite internal recommendations to inspect the Bearspaw feeder main years before its catastrophic failure in 2024. Speaking on CBC Radio, Nenshi said critical information about the system’s condition did not reach elected officials, raising serious concerns about governance and oversight.
An independent panel report released this week found that city officials repeatedly recommended inspections of the Bearspaw feeder main in 2017, 2019 and 2022. However, those inspections were delayed, and successive city councils were not provided with sufficient expert analysis or support to properly assess the risks. The report concluded that deep, systemic issues in Calgary’s water infrastructure date back decades.
Nenshi, who served as mayor from 2010 to 2021 and now leads Alberta’s NDP opposition, said the report confirms that key decision-makers were left in the dark. He stated that council was not told the feeder main had been identified as a high-risk asset, calling it a “major failure” in how information flowed from administration to elected officials.
The Bearspaw feeder main broke in 2024, triggering months of water restrictions across the city. Calgarians are once again facing reduced water use after another major break occurred last week. The panel report noted that risks to the feeder main were first identified as early as 2004, following another rupture in northeast Calgary — information Nenshi said he only learned about long after leaving office.
Nenshi acknowledged that during his time as mayor, the city placed a strong focus on growth and expansion, building new infrastructure to support urban sprawl. He said that emphasis came at the expense of maintaining and upgrading aging systems, including critical water infrastructure. Former councillors echoed that assessment, saying long-term maintenance often took a back seat to development pressures.
The report recommends sweeping changes, including faster construction of a second Bearspaw feeder main, improved inspection schedules, and the creation of a dedicated water utility department with independent oversight. City council has unanimously voted to move forward with the recommendations, as officials stress the urgency of preventing future failures.
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