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Outlook doesn’t hold water
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I find it interesting how the city water service department continues to insist that the 49-year-old PCCP feeder main that failed catastrophically in Bowness on June 5 was supposed to be good for 100 years. So what the heck happened? Has anyone at water services spent just 30 seconds conducting a Google search about this type of pipe? There is an abundance of information chronicling the catastrophic failures of this type of pipe throughout North America to the tune of billions of bucks, thus suggesting that it is pure fantasy to think that these types of pipes have a 100-year service life. Even the National Research Council, in a report released back in 2008, stated that while these types of pipes are designed to have a minimum service life of 50 years and that longer service life may be achievable depending on usage, water mains that operate under high pressure have a tendency to fail more frequently. And when failure occurs, it is often catastrophic in nature and thus needs regular inspections — something that water services has admitted was not done. I hope the third-party inquiry into this pipe failure and ensuing water crisis digs deep enough to get to the root cause of this problem. And that just might be that the apparent out-of-sight, out-of-mind philosophy embraced by city water services doesn’t hold water. Heads should roll.
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Bob Grundie
(The inquiry should dig as deep as possible.)
Water trumps Blue Sky
$4.8 million to promote Calgary as Blue Sky City. I’d prefer a safe and secure water supply.
Ken Glasser
(You’re not alone.)
Seeing red over Blue Sky
Blue Sky City? How is it humanly possible that city council spent $4.8 million on a slogan that a Grade 3 student could have produced in a lot less time than the two years it took the city to accomplish? Why didn’t the city just go to all the elementary schools in town and ask them for their input. I’m sure it would have been a hell of a lot better and cheaper than what the city came up with and the students could have a project to work on. This council needs to go now, not later.
John Hancock
(That would be an interesting assignment.)
Trudeau horsing around
So Justin Trudeau finally made a smart decision not to attend the Calgary Stampede this year, probably at the advice of his handlers. But on that note I did see a picture in the news of Trudeau riding a horse and for the life of me I could not figure which one was the horse’s ass.
Debra Townrow
(Ouch.)
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