Stranded cars on the Trans-Canada Highway from a reported water main break in Calgary in December. 2025.Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail

The big pipe that carries the majority of Calgary’s drinking water ruptured in the summer of 2024 and then again at the end of last year. In between those two events, the city bureaucrat with overall responsibility for the utility got a big raise.

That’s not how accountability is supposed to work.

It would be wrong to blame the current civil service for problems that go back decades. An independent report laid out systemic issues with Calgary’s water utility, including underinvestment and flawed risk analysis. All of which needs to be addressed. Politicians also needed to be more pro-active in overseeing city infrastructure.

But it is fair to ask what has been done since the last major pipe break. The answer to that question suggests the same staff members can’t remain in charge.

Calgary’s water woes a ‘wake-up call’ for all of Canada, engineers warn

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