How The City is conserving water
Many City of Calgary services and operations have adjusted how we work to ensure we are compliant with Outdoor Water Restrictions and the need to reduce indoor water use. See below for area-specific information.
Some of The City’s parks are certified Water Managed Sites that have in-ground irrigation systems certified for water efficiency.
These systems respond to weather and/or soil moisture conditions at that site, applying only the water needed to the landscape to keep it healthy while avoiding water wastage.
![](/content/dam/www/csps/recreation/publishingimages/golf-homepage/lakeview/gallery/lakeview-7.jpg)
Parks and golf courses
- In our regular operations, all five City golf course greens are already being irrigated with non-potable water sources.
- Community members may see watering happening in new communities where developers use stormwater (which is non-potable) to irrigate parks and playfields. In addition, non-potable water is also being used by community groups or partners that have an agreement, (Enhanced Landscape Maintenance agreement) with The City for irrigation. The use of this water use has no impact on the City’s water supply.
Pools, arenas and athletic parks
At our aquatic facilities, we are:
- Closing hot tubs and steam rooms from Aug. 26 to the end of September.
- Performing regular inspections to report and fix leaky faucets, showerheads, toilets, water fountains, and pool basins.
- Adjusting our cleaning procedures to conserve water such as reusing the hot tub water to clean the pool deck.
- Switching from cloths to disposable paper towels to reduce laundry loads.
At our arenas, we are:
- Reducing the frequency of ice surface flooding, when possible, without comprising the safety of our customers.
- Adjusting our cleaning procedures to conserve water.
At our athletic parks, we are:
- Using only non-potable water to irrigate the fields and support the growth of new grass.
- Adjusting mower heights in periphery areas to promote deeper roots and reduce the frequency of mowing.
![](/content/dam/www/major-projects/published-images/ice-rink.jpg)
![](/content/dam/www/ca/city-clerks/publishingimages/admin/municipal-building-jpg.jpg)
City-owned buildings and vehicles
For our buildings and vehicles, we are:
- Stopping watering of plants and flowers, and irrigation of grass areas maintained for City-owned buildings.
- Turning off decorative water features & fountains to conserve water.
- Closing wash bays for City vehicles. Vehicles will only be washed to comply with health and safety requirements.