Calgary's water system has seen about $100 million a year diverted

An expert panel reported that Calgary drew roughly $100 million a year from its water utility while inspections and maintenance were deferred; the panel recommended moving the utility to an arm's-length, city-owned corporation.

Calgary's water system has been put under scrutiny after a major feeder main failed in 2024 and experienced a second break before the end of the year. An expert panel tabled a report in early 2026 that criticised long-term underfunding and deferred inspection and risk mitigation. Investigations and reporting show the city has been taking roughly $100 million a year from the water utility into general revenues for about a decade. The panel recommended transferring control of the utility to an arm's-length, city-owned corporation. Key findings: - A major feeder main failure in June 2024 led to a city state of emergency and months of water restrictions. - The expert panel reported that problems with underground piping were known for many years and that inspection and mitigation had been repeatedly deferred. - Between 2016 and 2025 the utility dividend ranged roughly $106 million to $114 million annually, with cumulative transfers exceeding $1.1 billion, and the utility was reported as set to pay a record $130 million dividend. - The panel recommended corporatising the utility into an arm's-length, city-owned company, modelled on EPCOR in Edmonton. Summary: The report ties decisions to divert utility revenues into general city coffers to long-term underfunding of buried infrastructure, and it links that funding pattern to recent service failures. The panel's main recommendation is corporatisation under an independent board. Undetermined at this time.