River Flow — Real-Time Stations
Reservoir Storage
Bearspaw is a run-of-river reservoir with limited storage capacity — inflows from the Bow frequently exceed it. Real-time storage data is not published by Alberta Environment. Upstream flow at 05BH004 is the best available public proxy. The City draws drinking water from Bearspaw WTP for the northwest system.
Station & Infrastructure Map
Flow Profile — 7-Day History
Calgary Dual-Source Water System
Infrastructure Context — Bearspaw South Feeder Main
Two catastrophic failures in 18 months — and a $342M reckoning
The Bearspaw South Feeder Main is the most critical single pipe in Calgary's water network, carrying approximately 60% of the city's treated drinking water from the Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant into the distribution system. Installed in the mid-1970s as prestressed concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP), it was first flagged as a high-consequence risk in 2004 — but recommendations to inspect, monitor, and rehabilitate it were deferred across multiple councils and management cycles for 20 years.
Calgary's dual-source design — Bearspaw WTP drawing from the Bow, Glenmore WTP from the Elbow — is both a strength and a vulnerability. When Bearspaw is compromised, the Elbow/Glenmore system cannot fully compensate. This is why the flow readings at 05BH004 and 05BJ001 are not just environmental monitoring: they are directly linked to Calgary's most pressing infrastructure story.