A scathing independent report has laid bare the secretive and dysfunctional management culture inside Calgary's city administration, directly linking it to the 2024 Bearspaw water main catastrophe and the city's current vulnerable water system.
A Culture of Deferral and High Risk
The expert panel investigating the massive 2024 Bearspaw South feeder main blowout identified a core problem: a "consensus decision-making" model among city managers. This process required managers from various city sections to agree before any major water project or inspection could proceed.
This system created a political environment where critical infrastructure was constantly sidelined. "Consensus-based decision-making contributed to a culture of deferral and high-risk tolerance," the panel's report states. It notes that the city's management culture "prioritized consensus over escalation, which led to critical decisions being delayed or unresolved."
Critical Projects Stalled for Over a Decade
The consequences of this bureaucratic failure were severe and long-lasting. The report highlights that vital projects like the Bearspaw replacement pipe and the new water line to north Calgary were repeatedly stalled for years.
Meanwhile, city managers diverted attention and resources to what the report implies were more politically fashionable initiatives, including bike lanes, a paper bag bylaw, blanket rezoning, and a climate emergency declaration.
The panel found that the North Calgary Water Servicing Strategy was first proposed in 2011 but did not move to preliminary design until 2022, with construction only beginning in 2025. City officials had long known this redundancy line was critical to prevent a crisis if the Bearspaw main failed.
Missed Inspections and a System Without Redundancy
The dysfunction extended to basic maintenance. The panel revealed that requests to inspect the aging Bearspaw South feeder main in 2017, 2020, and 2022 were consistently deferred, "delaying monitoring of a high-consequence risk."
The report underscores that every other major city in Canada has water system redundancy—backup lines to prevent citywide restrictions during a repair. Calgary does not. If the long-delayed north water line existed today, the Bearspaw main could be shut down for repairs without the current severe water restrictions affecting residents.
The panel is calling for urgent reforms, including the creation of a stand-alone water authority within the government with the power to act, followed by "an independent oversight body" to strengthen long-term planning. It warns that councillors must act immediately and not delay reforms for political reasons.
The findings point to an administration that became "alarmingly comfortable with taking dangerous risks"—risks that have now materialized into a full-blown public infrastructure crisis for Canada's third-largest city.
