Federal Funding Announced for North Calgary Water Servicing Project
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Earlier this week, the City of Calgary and the Government of Canada announced $29 million in federal funding for the North Calgary Water Servicing (NCWS) Project - a significant milestone for one of our most important pieces of water infrastructure.
This funding will help move forward a project that's essential to keeping northwest Calgary supplied with clean, reliable drinking water, both today and for decades to come.
Why This Project Matters
Calgary is growing fast. The North Calgary Water Servicing Project is being built to keep pace with that growth, while also strengthening the resilience of the city's water system as a whole.
Once complete, the project will construct a new 22-kilometre water feeder main along with multiple support facilities. Together, they'll deliver 100 million litres of water per day to existing and future communities in northwest Calgary - a number that will climb to 410 million litres per day once a new water treatment plant is built.
Beyond meeting future demand, the project also adds important redundancy to Calgary's water distribution system. This means if an existing feeder main or pump station needs to go offline for repairs or maintenance, or in the event of an emergency, the City has additional reliable ways to keep water flowing to homes and businesses.
What the Federal Funding Supports
Phase 1 will see both the construction of new support facilities and improvements at existing sites. Stage 1 of this phase consists of four major components, involving the construction of 7 km of linear feeder main and upgrades to three existing support facilities: the Top Hill Reservoir, Big Hill East Reservoir and Mountain View Pump Station.
The 7 km of new feeder main will connect two existing reservoirs, Top Hill and Big Hill East, providing redundancy for both facilities and eliminating a bottleneck in the system. Redundancy will allow the continuation of water services to residents when existing feeder mains or pump stations are out of service in the event of planned or emergency repairs.
Upgrades to Mountain View Pump Station will add pumping capacity so that the city can provide an additional 30 million litres of water per day to pressure zones in North Calgary and surrounding communities associated with increased population growth. The pressure zones span both existing communities and undeveloped areas, unlocking opportunities for housing densification and new growth.
Construction on this phase began in October 2025 and is on track for completion in early 2027.
Looking Ahead
While Stage 1, Phase 1 brings an earlier boost in capacity, it's just one part of a much larger undertaking. The full North Calgary Water Servicing system - the complete 22-kilometre feeder main and all supporting facilities - is expected to be in service by late 2029.
This federal funding announcement marks an important step in delivering a more resilient, better-supplied water system for the communities of Ward 3 and northwest Calgary, now and for generations to come.
More Reading & Media
Building Canada strong by investing in North Calgary Water Servicing project - Government of Canada News Release
Federal government invests $29M in Calgary’s water system - LiveWire Calgary, Sarah Palmer
Ottawa to invest up to $29M in north Calgary water infrastructure project - CBC News, Andrew Jeffrey
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