Calgary water,
measured against its own ceilings.

Public data on Calgary’s water system, drawn directly from the City of Calgary and its open-data portal. Each figure on this page cites its publisher and any transformation we applied; the JSON behind every chart is committed to the public repository. For the specific public claims being made about these figures — and our responses to them — see the claims register.

water · case filepeak demand · observed

698

ML/day

2025-06-09 — about 73% of plant capacity. Even at peak the plants have headroom; the 2024 Bearspaw rupture showed the feeder main, not capacity, is the system's actual fragility.(/water/daily)

Bow summer flow vs 1912–1941

-28%

30-year means at WSC gauge 05BH004 — early (30 yrs) vs recent (30 yrs). Annual mean has shifted -7%; the summer (Jul–Sep) season — when demand peaks — has dropped further.(/water/bow-flow)

plant capacity · daily

950ML/day

Bearspaw 550 + Glenmore 400 post-upgrade. Binding daily ceiling — annual headroom doesn't help on the worst day.(/water/daily)

residential · 2024

47%

Of total system water — including non-revenue water. Residential is the single largest end use; ICI, regional, and municipal split the remainder of the revenue 78%.(/water/demand#sector-shares)

water loss program · 2027–2030

51%

$179.4M of the $353.9M Plan budget goes to the Accelerated Water Loss Program (pipe replacement, leak detection, cathodic protection).(/water/budget)

[07]

Outdoor restriction stage matrix

07 / 07

Calgary’s outdoor water restrictions have four stages, each with a defined trigger and a distinct rule set. Stages 1–2 are targeted at outdoor watering; Stages 3–4 are emergency measures with broader prohibitions.

Stage	Trigger	Lawn / outdoor watering	Car washing	Pools / hot tubs
Stage 1	Lower river flows or infrastructure / high-demand pressure	Limited 2 hours/week on assigned day, 7pm–10am	Permitted Any day/time	Permitted Any day/time
Stage 2	Escalated water shortage	Limited 1 hour/week on assigned day, 7pm–10am	Permitted Any day/time	Permitted Any day/time
Stage 3	Severe water shortage	Not permitted No sprinklers; hand watering of gardens any time	Not permitted Not permitted	Not permitted Not permitted
Stage 4 Fines up to $3,000 per violation	Critical water shortage	Not permitted No watering except hand-watering food crops	Not permitted Not permitted	Not permitted Not permitted

The outdoor-watering stages (1–2) and the emergency stages (3–4) trigger on different conditions and carry different rule sets. Stage triggers and per-activity rules transcribed verbatim from the City’s outdoor water restrictions page · day-by-day stage events are on /water/restrictions.

Calgary water,measured against its own ceilings.

Calgary water,
measured against its own ceilings.