[Torture]

Found where I first saw the '50 years' comment:

The most common age of failure for water mains made with precast concrete, especially those under high pressure, is around 50 years — the age Calgary’s broken main was just about to reach, said Tricia Stadnyk, professor and Canada Research Chair in hydrologic modelling with the University of Calgary’s Schulich School of Engineering. Stadnyk also said the week-minimum repair time for the main is a highly likely outcome.

The city did routine maintenance work on the feeder main earlier this spring, said Nancy Mackay, Calgary’s director of water services. The city still hasn’t determined what caused the break.

“We actually had done some work on this one — because it’s such a critical one, that’s part of our due diligence is making sure that we’ve got good backup plans for when something goes wrong,” Mackay said Thursday.

Stadnyk said she has little doubt the pipe had been flagged by city engineers and that requests for funding and upgrades had been made. “What city council wants to pay for that and go through the hassle with the citizens and be responsible for that when it’s out of sight, out of mind?” she said.

https://calgaryherald.com/news/calga...ne-week-repair