Overview
- An independent inspector led by David Goldie has publicly released a report that documents long‑standing governance, risk‑management and capital delivery failures in Calgary’s water utility and sets out 20 recommendations for reform.
- The inspection found five of nine priority recommendations from a 2015–16 Raftelis review were not presented to city council and that those missing recommendations closely matched an earlier 2024 panel’s advice, blocking earlier opportunities for change.
- The report ties chronic underinvestment to infrastructure decline, noting actual capital spending ran on average about 35% below approved budgets and that the utility’s capital work lagged national benchmarks, which increased long‑term risk.
- Calgary has begun reforms, including a Water Utility Oversight Board and an acting chief operating officer, but the inspector says those changes must produce clearer decisions, transparent reporting and measurable risk reduction to be effective.
- The minister of municipal affairs will review the inspection before deciding on any provincial directives, and the report warns that failure to cut risk could lead to more service disruptions and possible further provincial intervention.