Water main break and sinkhole take down 20 Bowness businesses Saturday

A water main break beneath Bowness Road opened a large sinkhole Saturday morning, cutting water to 20 businesses in the neighbourhood and forcing a closure of the westbound lane between 62 and 63 Streets N.W.

The sinkhole opened around 2 a.m., according to security footage reviewed by nearby business owners, and had grown to roughly 10 feet wide by the time shops opened. The city logged the outage on its website just after 9:30 a.m. but provided no updates on repair timelines.

Bobby Mitchell, owner of Brewsmith Brewing directly outside the break, said this was the third major water main incident affecting his business in roughly two years. "It just seems they'll do one fix, and 50 feet down the road, oh, it's broken again," he said. During the June 2024 rupture, his brewery was still under construction. In December 2025, the Bearspaw feeder main break allowed him to operate with a temporary city water line. This time, only emergency water supply was provided — not enough to serve pints or food.

Mitchell estimated losses of roughly $4,000 on Saturday and another $3,000 on Sunday if the problem wasn't resolved by then. He had to cancel a bachelor party reservation and other bookings.

Across the street at Reliquary Cards, owner Nicholas Scurfield had to shut down the shop's small kitchen and close bathrooms during a major Magic: The Gathering tournament. Players had to walk to a nearby Tim Hortons to use facilities.

A separate break also hit the community of Banff Trail Saturday, affecting about 50 homes.