Overview
- The final redacted independent review into the Bearspaw South Feedermain attributes the collapse to long-running governance and management failures across the municipal system.
- Investigators say problems were flagged as early as 2004 and that recommended inspections in 2017 and 2020 were deferred or redirected.
- A 2022 restructuring that split the Water Utility across multiple departments deepened accountability gaps, with leak rates reaching about 22% by 2024.
- The panel criticizes the City’s practice of taking dividends from the utility for general spending as inconsistent with best practice.
- Following ruptures in summer 2024 and again just before New Year’s, Mayor Jeromy Farkas warned of a collapsing pipeline section as opinion coverage pressed for senior leadership consequences.