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A water main break in Calgary\u2019s Bowness neighbourhood Tuesday led to significant flooding, requiring firefighters to rescue 13 people from seven cars stuck in the rushing water.<\/p>\n
Police and firefighters responded to the flooding and stranded vehicles along 16th Avenue N.W., the same street where a catastrophic break<\/a> occurred in June 2024. <\/p>\n Trevor Sommerfeld, acting battalion chief with the Calgary Fire Department, said there was significant flooding underneath the CP rail bridge near 69th Street N.W.<\/p>\n The city said it expects the break is related to the Bearspaw south feeder main, similar to the pipe that ruptured in northwest Calgary in June 2024, given the location of the flooding and after an initial assessment. <\/p>\n The city added it\u2019s too early to confirm the cause or extent of the damage.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe flooding underneath the bridge itself is quite heavy,” Sommerfeld said. “It\u2019s obstructing two of the four lanes on 16th Avenue, but we do have our CPS (Calgary Police Service) partners shutting down 16th Avenue in its entirety.”<\/p>\n The westbound lanes of 16th Avenue were closed between Home Road and Sarcee Trail on Tuesday night, and police said they expected those closures to be in effect for several hours. <\/p>\n In a Facebook post Tuesday, Mayor Jeromy Farkas said the break affected water service to 2,000 homes and 100 businesses. <\/p>\n \u201cPlease assist our emergency crews and first responders by avoiding any non essential travel in the area surrounding 16th Ave NW and Sarcee Trail NW,\u201d said Farkas. \u201cThe seriousness is being investigated and we will provide more information as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Sommerfeld said the flooding does not initially appear to him to be as significant as what occurred after the water main break in 2024, but noted it is still a large\u00a0volume of water.<\/p>\n No serious injuries have been reported, police said. Police are also asking people to avoid the area and wait for further updates from the city.<\/p>\n The city said it\u2019s assessing the water pressure to determine how neighbouring communities are affected by the break, and that it\u2019s opening its Emergency Operations Centre and activating its Municipal Emergency Plan, in response to the flooding.<\/p>\n The water main break in June 2024 dropped the city’s water supply into a critical state, led to a state of local emergency<\/a> and months of water restrictions<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Flooding](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1767165491_556_default.jpg\")
Flooding in northwest Calgary on Tuesday resulted in the Calgary Fire Department searching seven cars to rescue 13 people. (Chris dela Torre\/CBC)<\/p>\n