English
Calgary’s North Calgary Water Servicing project has secured $29 million in federal funding, giving a significant financial boost to a major infrastructure initiative designed to improve water delivery to the city’s northern communities.
Calgary-Confederation Liberal MP Corey Hogan, who also serves as parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, joined city officials on Tuesday to formally announce the contribution. The funding comes from the Build Communities Strong Fund and targets the first stage of the project, where construction began last fall in northwest Calgary.
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What the First Phase Will Deliver
The initial stage involves building several kilometres of feeder main and upgrading connections to existing infrastructure, including the Top Hill Reservoir, Big Hill East Reservoir and Mountain View Pump Station. Once operational next year, the phase will supply an additional 30 million litres of water daily from the Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant.
Michael Thompson, the city’s general manager of infrastructure services, described the project as a critical step toward greater capacity and reliability. “This is a great first step in delivering increases in infrastructure for Calgarians, to move more water to Calgarians and provide additional redundancy so that if we do have issues, there’s a backup in place that people can rely on,” Thompson said.
The first phase carries a total cost of $123 million. The city is contributing $94 million of that amount, with the newly announced $29 million in federal funds covering the remainder. The overall project budget stands at $533 million.
Full Build-Out Expected by 2029
At completion, the north feeder main will stretch 22 kilometres and include up to 10 support facilities. The line will run from the Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant to the Northridge Feeder Main at 144 Avenue and 14 Street N.W. City officials expect the full build-out to finish in 2029.
When complete, the project will deliver 100 million litres of drinking water daily to north Calgary communities. That figure could rise to more than 400 million litres per day once a new water treatment plant comes online.
Hogan acknowledged the broader context surrounding Calgary’s water infrastructure challenges. “The ability to turn on a tap and receive drinkable water is a miracle of modern civilization that’s become absolutely mundane, most of the time,” he said. “But as Calgarians, we unfortunately know too well, it’s not always mundane.”
Broader Water System Pressures
The announcement comes as Calgary continues to address serious vulnerabilities in its water network. Two critical ruptures along the Bearspaw feeder main — a line that carries 60 per cent of the city’s drinking water — have kept water reliability at the forefront of public concern. Fast-tracked replacement work on that main remains on track for completion by the end of the year.
To fund the broader range of water infrastructure projects, city council approved a $609.5 million budget increase and expanded the city’s borrowing capacity by more than $500 million. Officials have indicated those decisions will result in a 14 per cent water rate increase in 2027, adding roughly $17 to monthly bills.
Mayor Jeromy Farkas welcomed Tuesday’s federal announcement but made clear the city expects further financial support from other levels of government. “We’re going to continue making the case for not just Alberta’s fair share of funding from the federal government but also Calgary’s fair share of investment from the provincial government,” Farkas told reporters.
City officials also noted that temporary outdoor water restrictions could take effect as early as September 15 in connection with the North Calgary Water Servicing project. Whether restrictions proceed will depend on weather conditions and overall water demand. A final decision on that matter is expected to be announced next week.
