Tackling critical infrastructure investments

This is a modified version of an op-ed that was published in November 2024 in the Calgary Herald.

Calgary is the fastest growing city in Canada at the moment.

This rapid rate of growth means that over 60 new Calgarians are putting down roots in the city per day.

Historically, Calgary’s response to rapid growth has been to encourage growth at the edges of the city, sprawling southwards towards Okotoks, northwards towards Airdrie and Cochrane, westwards towards the Rockies, and eastwards towards Chestermere. For decades, this approach to growth, combined with an active commercial downtown core, has allowed the city to have some of the lowest housing costs, and lowest residential municipal taxes in the country. Combined with higher-than-median incomes, Calgarians have experienced a high standard of living compared to other cities in Canada.

However, underpinning this rapid rate of expansion, is the critical infrastructure required for a city to operate. From roads and stormwater drainage, fire hydrants and potable water delivery, when new communities are developed this infrastructure is required to be built out. Notably, each piece of infrastructure has a finite lifespan and requires a certain amount of maintenance and upkeep to make sure it operates safely and predictably. While some of these maintenance efforts, such as patching potholes, are easier to see, some are hidden deep below the surface, including our potable water and subsequent wastewater systems.

When these key systems - think of them like arteries in your body - don’t receive the maintenance work required or the quality check processes don’t catch issues, it can result in failures. Usually this can manifest as a break or rupture on a residential street or in a community water line. Or, in rare cases, it can result in a larger catastrophic failures, as was the case in June 2024 when one of the main feeder lines for treated water in the city ruptured.

While the damage was substantial and the impacts far-reaching in the city, it is important to dig into the root cause of how this failure occurred. Thanks to the recently released consultants report, we’ve now learned that this was likely a result of salt corrosion of the wires wrapped around the pipe. What is clear, is that this catastrophic failure was not a result of population growth.

This gets to the crux of the issue.

By creating a sprawling city, dominated by low-density residential developments, we have large distances of pipes, roads, and other infrastructure feeding relatively few Calgarians. While investments have been prioritized towards new community infrastructure, we’ve lowered the priority of maintenance and replacement of existing infrastructure in the established areas - those that have had their build-out completed, many of which are beginning to see redevelopment pressures. This is evidenced by majority of water main breaks in recent years occurring in established areas, especially those built in the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s.

This does not, as some would suggest, mean that any increases in density in established neighbourhoods is causing an increase in water main breaks. On the contrary, it likely points to a lack of investment in existing infrastructure, as a result of limited replacement or maintenance; think about it similar to waiting for your fridge to break before repairing or replacing it rather than cleaning the condenser fins regularly. One such prompt for maintenance, replacement, or upgrading of infrastructure is through the rigorous development proposal and the need for developers to front the costs of infrastructure upgrades when required. If a multi-family residential building is replacing what was a single-detached home, the developer is required to work with the City to identify what infrastructure upgrades may be required, prior to approval of the development permit.

So what options does this leave us with? Ultimately, to build a more sustainable city both fiscally and environmentally, we need to begin focusing our growth inwards, where infrastructure already exists. By upgrading the existing infrastructure and adding more Calgarians into our existing communities, many of which are well below historical peak populations, we can help spread the cost of infrastructure upkeep among more community members. This also has the effect of helping to curb the encroachment of new communities into environmentally sensitive areas.

What won’t help is hitting pause on developments as our population continues to grow, and the number of people living in precarious housing situations continues to increase. This approach fundamentally is at odds with addressing the housing crisis. For the sake of fiscal, environmental, and social sustainability, we need to re-evaluate our current growth model, and perhaps look inwards for the answers.

Does this vision of thoughtful city growth and change resonate with you? Get involved by signing up to help out the campaign at www.davidfor7.ca/volunteer or by donating at www.davidfor7.ca/donate.