Freeze and thaw conditions are wreaking havoc throughout Calgary with a slew of burst and frozen pipes and a Bow River ice jam, say city officials.
More than two dozen water supply complaints have been reported to the city since the cold weather hit, said Bill Boyes of Calgary Water Services.
“They could be from water main breaks or frozen services,” said Boyes.
One of them occurred Wednesday night when a pipe burst inside Sunridge Nissan, 3131 32 Ave. N.E.
Also on Wednesday, another pipe ruptured due to the freeze on the ninth floor of an apartment building on Barberry Walk S.W. sent 100 residents fleeing.
They’ve since returned to their homes and damage to valuables is mininal, said fire department spokesman Brian McAsey.
Boyes said exposed or uninsulated pipes are a prime cause for the flooding and advised Calgarians to cover them up or find a way to thaw out frozen pipes.
“Run a hair dryer or if you’ve been away, turn the heat as quickly as you can,” he said.
Pipe breaks have occurred in private settings and the recent cold snap wasn’t deep or long enough to penetrate to street water mains, said Boyes.
But the fire department’s McCasey said his colleagues expect to respond to more flooding complaints in the coming days as warmer weather unleashes water issuing from icy, broken pipes.
City officials cordoned off a section of a bike path on the north shore of the Bow River near the Calgary Zoo that was flooded Wednesday by an ice jam.
Workers are preparing an alternative detour after one bicyclist rode into waist-deep water at the spot of the pathway running east from he Baines Bridge, said Dennis Urquhart, spokesman for the parks department.
“A regular detour isn’t possible due to zoo construction there,” said Urquhart.
“We’ve got signage up on the site ... it’s better that people get some extra exercise by backtracking than ending up in that cold water.”
City workers are monitoring the ice floe-borne water, which isn’t expected to rise any further, said a city official.
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