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Emergency crews had to pull 13 people from eight vehicles overnight after the Bearspaw South Feeder Main ruptured Tuesday evening, sending sheets of water down the road around 16th Avenue NW and Sarcee Trail, northwest of downtown near the site of Canada Olympic Park.

The water raced down the roadway, swirling and occasionally gushing in small plumes and geysers as crews used inflatable rafts in some cases to rescue some trapped drivers.

No one was injured, city officials said.

Ian Royer, a nearby resident, said he saw "a potential for death."

"I feel for the people that were actually involved in the scene. That was some scary stuff," Royer said in an interview.

He said he and his wife, Tasha Royer, were returning home at about 8:30 p.m. when he noticed the water "exploding out" of 16th Avenue and rushing down.

A wave of water poured toward the nearby Bow River, he said. One car appeared to Royer as though it was submerged. He said he saw a truck pinned against a train overpass with people sitting on top of the cab.

"I'm surprised the cars didn't float into the river," he said.

By Wednesday morning, the water was no longer rushing down the road and crews went to work on the damage.

Parts of the thick pavement on 16th Ave NW, along the Trans-Canada Highway, near the Sarcee Trail overpass were buckled and crumpled like tinfoil. Some stranded vehicles remained parked on the roadway.

Heavy vehicles lined a nearby road overseeing the wreckage, bringing in equipment and workers. Some onlookers milled near the edge of erected fencing and yellow "Do not cross," tape, trying to photograph the aftermath. 

The broken feeder main handles about 60 per cent of treated water for the city. Farkas said water restrictions and recommendations are now in place.

Residents in three surrounding neighbourhoods are under a boil water advisory, affecting more than 3,000 homes.

All city residents and those in surrounding municipalities are being urged to conserve water by taking shorter showers, reducing toilet flushes and dishwasher and laundry loads.

The break occurred in the same area of a catastrophic break on the same Bearspaw South Feeder main that prompted months of waxing and waning water restrictions and advisories in the summer of 2024.

The cause was later determined to be several factors on the pre-stressed concrete pipe, including pipeline degradation and reinforcing wires snapping.

Farkas said the problems with the pipe are well known and they are working to replace the entire 11-kilometre tube.

"This is a ticking time bomb that Calgarians will continue to live with, so we are taking those active steps," Farkas said.

"We have learned from the previous time that this happened. Within the first few hours, we were already days ahead of what happened the previous time around."

The mayor, who was elected in October, added city council would take action to make sure the necessary fixes were made. 

"You can rest assured, none of my council colleagues ran on being satisfied with the status quo," he said.

"The status quo is not acceptable for any of us. It's not acceptable to administration, and it's surely not acceptable to the public, and we're taking immediate action."

This report by ºÃÉ«tvwas first published Dec. 31, 2025.

— With files from Daniela Germano in Edmonton