Calgary residents cut water consumption to record low

Water consumption in Alberta’s largest city hit an all-time low on Saturday, as residents and businesses absorbed the gravity of a massive water main break that will take up to five more weeks to repair and has placed Calgary under a state of emergency.Calgary’s standard water supply – which stocks the city of 1.6 million people, and surrounding communities including Airdrie, Chestermere and Strathmore – has been cut in half. Consumers have been under a combination of mandatory and voluntary water restrictions since the day after a major water main rupture on June 5, which was initially expected to take about a week to repair. But the city upped that timeline to an additional three to five weeks on Friday and on Saturday morning declared a local state of emergency after officials discovered five more worrisome spots during inspections.