Major Water Main Break in Bowness Area

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by fotze2

That's why I am skeptical of the environmental movement, just full of people caring about the wrong things.

It's just like with risk, people operate on emotion rather than logic.

People will obsess about bear safety before going on a hike, yet drive to the trail 30 km/h over the limit on bald tires.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

It's just like with risk, people operate on emotion rather than logic.

People will obsess about bear safety before going on a hike, yet drive to the trail 30 km/h over the limit on bald tires.

A lot of it comes down to "it won't happen to me". We treat a lot of things that way in our society, and when we went through Covid, and for the majority of the population, there were no ramifications (in the sense of thousands of deaths and illnesses that were severe), it made it feel like the restrictions were a waste of time. The same thing is happening with the water. We're cutting back (well, some of us are), and then it works, and there are no ramifications, so they have the impression that we cut back and got nothing out of it.

Honestly, the idea of slowing things down and reducing the water pressure to a trickle for a few days isn't the worst idea. Give people a sense of how dire the situation is, and perhaps they'll be more inclined to be responsible members of society.

[Fuzz]

LOL, could you imagine if the city did something like that to "teach citizens a lesson?" People would lose their ####. Smith would send in the Sheriffs to arrest the bureaucrats that implemented it. The only lesson people would take away is that you absolutely can not trust government, because they will take away a necessity of life to prove a point.


I get the philosophy behind it. People act like toddlers, so you should treat them as such. The reality is, toddlers can learn lessons, a lot of humans are very resistant to that, and would ignore the lesson and hunker down on being betrayed, and all the negatives that leads to.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

LOL, could you imagine if the city did something like that to "teach citizens a lesson?" People would lose their ####. Smith would send in the Sheriffs to arrest the bureaucrats that implemented it. The only lesson people would take away is that you absolutely can not trust government, because they will take away a necessity of life to prove a point.


I get the philosophy behind it. People act like toddlers, so you should treat them as such. The reality is, toddlers can learn lessons, a lot of humans are very resistant to that, and would ignore the lesson and hunker down on being betrayed, and all the negatives that leads to.

Yeah, you're right. It would be chaos and mistrust for sure.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by fotze2

Can they just throttle? I assume not. Choke a few areas or everywhere.

Iirc last time they said if the pressure in the system dropped too low they would pump in non-potable water to maintain pressure for firefighting purposes. Then the whole city would be on a boil water advisory.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Iirc last time they said if the pressure in the system dropped too low they would pump in non-potable water to maintain pressure for firefighting purposes. Then the whole city would be on a boil water advisory.

I mean... that would get people's attention at least.

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

LOL, could you imagine if the city did something like that to "teach citizens a lesson?" People would lose their ####. Smith would send in the Sheriffs to arrest the bureaucrats that implemented it. The only lesson people would take away is that you absolutely can not trust government, because they will take away a necessity of life to prove a point.


I get the philosophy behind it. People act like toddlers, so you should treat them as such. The reality is, toddlers can learn lessons, a lot of humans are very resistant to that, and would ignore the lesson and hunker down on being betrayed, and all the negatives that leads to.

Hey, I didn't think this through. Just dumb ideas.

Immortan Jeromy Farkas.

[Titan2]

Originally Posted by Wormius

It’ll be cooler than Fuzz’s hot tub, and UCB won’t have to wear a sundress anymore.

He won't have to. He will because he WANTS to!

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

This is the same as covid. Takes everyone to buy in. The first round people were champs. By the second, people were finding excuses to blame others so they didn't have to do anything, and finally falling into downplaying science, experts, the vulnerable, deaths of seniors being inevitable, anything they could so they didn't personally have to be inconvenienced by reality.

I think the problem there is that everyone's expectation was "two weeks", and that turned into two years.

[woob]

Originally Posted by Slava

Honestly, the idea of slowing things down and reducing the water pressure to a trickle for a few days isn't the worst idea. Give people a sense of how dire the situation is, and perhaps they'll be more inclined to be responsible members of society.

Love the idea, but we'd probably burst another pipe when they brought everything back to normal.

[Bownesian]

My honest suspicion is that it isn't as dire as last time, which is why they haven't activated the emergency alert (and don't want to unless it's actually needed).

The city isn't burning through reserves as fast this time (nobody watering lawns this time of year), and they got the pipes shut fast enough that a much smaller area of the city had pressure drops sufficient to need a boil water advisory. While we are in an unsustainable trend, reserves are likely enough that we can handle a bit of red zone until the pipe is back working again.

[Locke]

Nothing if not entirely predictable. Which I already identified pages ago but was promptly disbelieved..."its only been a few days tho! Who is already tired of restrictions?!?!"

Sorry if I'm not on the same page as the 'Chicken Littles' around here, I mean, I'm reading that we have to conserve 30L of water per day per person? I dont think I even use 30L of water per day.

Laundry once per week, dishwasher once per week. Really, beyond a reasonable daily shower and flushing/hand washing who is mowing through all this water?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Locke

Nothing if not entirely predictable. Which I already identified pages ago but was promptly disbelieved..."its only been a few days tho! Who is already tired of restrictions?!?!"

Sorry if I'm not on the same page as the 'Chicken Littles' around here, I mean, I'm reading that we have to conserve 30L of water per day per person? I dont think I even use 30L of water per day.

Laundry once per week, dishwasher once per week. Really, beyond a reasonable daily shower and flushing/hand washing who is mowing through all this water?

You. How many times a day do you flush the toilet? Small flushes are 4l, big 6l. Do you shower with a spray bottle? Probably not, so you are flowing from 5-10 lpm of shower time. 5 minute shower? That's 25-50l on it's own. Do you cook? Washing dishes? Wait, your dishwasher only runs once a week? Do you hand wash everything else, because that uses more water than a dishwasher.


This is the issue, people don't really understand water usage at all.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

You. How many times a day do you flush the toilet? Small flushes are 4l, big 6l. Do you shower with a spray bottle? Probably not, so you are flowing from 5-10 lpm of shower time. 5 minute shower? That's 25-50l on it's own. Do you cook? Washing dishes? Wait, your dishwasher only runs once a week? Do you hand wash everything else, because that uses more water than a dishwasher.


This is the issue, people don't really understand water usage at all.

Shower I will grant. Dishwashing? No. It goes in the dishwasher until its full. What do you have to hand-wash? The odd pot or pan? Flushing cant be generally helped.

But once again, you're approaching this all crabbed. Instead of identifying how much should be conserved, maybe identify how much should be allocated to be used.

We cant all be hermits that work from home and go all Howard Hughes like Fuzz.

[Fuzz]

I'm not approaching this in any way, I'm just pointing out what uses water. You claimed to not even use 30l in a day. I showed why you probably use way more than that. Instead of acknowledging "huh, ya, ok maybe I can cut back a bit" you get all defensive and make excuses. This is why we are where we are.


And flushing can be helped at home, anyway. Unless every toilet visit is a dookie dropper, it's OK to leave it for a few rounds. As the city suggests in their information page.


https://www.calgary.ca/emergencies/f...ain-break.html

[PepsiFree]

You have to admit it’s kind of funny to be accused of going “Howard Hughes” by a guy who apparently doesn’t even wash or flush the toilet.

[woob]

Save where you need to, Locke - But please don't stop showering!

Shower with rubbermaid bins and then use that to flush. Win win!

[Locke]

Originally Posted by woob

Save where you need to, Locke - But please don't stop showering!

I'll never stop showering! I pay my taxes!!

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by fotze2

Can they just throttle? I assume not. Choke a few areas or everywhere.

My wife is a misplaced psycho about "the environment". The kitchen sink goes 5 hours a night . She washes our garbage and recycling. That sink is constantly going. Thinks nothing to leave the back door open for twenty minutes and cools the whole house off 10C. Ohh the stovetop needs cleaning again, the kitchen drawers need thousands of litres of water again. Yet it is the most cluttered kitchen with bills and everything on earth on the counter.

That's why I am skeptical of the environmental movement, just full of people caring about the wrong things.

They need to choke our water 40%. Go to the car wash and its dribbling out, would cut that back. Shower dribbles, you stop crapping all over your arse.

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

It's just like with risk, people operate on emotion rather than logic.

People will obsess about bear safety before going on a hike, yet drive to the trail 30 km/h over the limit on bald tires.

I don't suppose you're using 1 or 2 anecdotal examples to unfairly and fallaciously smear an entire movement, are you?

Surely, you'd never do such a thing, would you?

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Bownesian

The city isn't burning through reserves as fast this time (nobody watering lawns this time of year), and they got the pipes shut fast enough that a much smaller area of the city had pressure drops sufficient to need a boil water advisory. While we are in an unsustainable trend, reserves are likely enough that we can handle a bit of red zone until the pipe is back working again.

There was a chart posted on Bluesky the other day by Aryn Tombs (former Livewire, believe he's now on DJ Kelly's staff) with the Glenmore reservoir levels.
https://bsky.app/profile/aryn.bsky.s.../3mbxggxjnl22w

TLDR, we're probably okay in the near term but if it breaks again before spring melt refills the reservoir (which is a real risk especially as they re-pressurize, the City highlighted that this is something they are worried about really clearly in their update the other day) our remaining water is only what is left in the reservoir. If it breaks again and we continue usage at the same rate Aryn suggests it's appropriate to measure the remaining water in weeks.