North Calgary water project balloons to $611 million, now 30 percent over budget

The North Calgary Water Servicing project is now estimated to cost $611 million—roughly 30 percent more than the initial $478 million budget approved in 2024, according to a July 15 Infrastructure and Planning Committee meeting discussion.

The 22-kilometre water feeder main line will provide 100 million litres per day of water initially, with flows reaching 410 million litres per day once a new water treatment plant is built. The City of Calgary said the original 2024 estimate covered approximately 20 kilometres of steel feeder main and six facilities at an early concept stage, without all necessary details for the full project build-out.

The revised estimate now includes 22 kilometres of steel feeder main and 10 total facilities, incorporating actual costs and potential steel tariffs. A portion of the cost—22 percent—will be funded through developers' off-site levies. The remaining portion is financed through debt and repaid via water rates. To date, $533 million has been approved for the project.

Ward 2 Councillor Jennifer Wyness noted the project stems from the city's failure to plan for adequate redundancies in its water system to connect to Airdrie and move water east. Ward 6 Councillor John Pantazopoulos acknowledged the expenditure was necessary but said council must understand why the budget ballooned, particularly when the water infrastructure capital budget alone stands at $1.1 billion for 2026. Even small increases can translate to significant hits for water ratepayers.