Chair selected for panel tasked with reviewing Bearspaw feeder main rupture

Crews work to repair a major water main break and five other weak spots in Calgary, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

The City of Calgary has announced who will be heading up an independent review looking at the June break of the Bearspaw South feeder main.

The feeder main failed on June 5, prompting a local state of emergency and threatening Calgary's supply of potable water, which in turn lead to water restrictions for months following the break.

On Thursday, the city said it had accepted the recommendation of the advisory group and selected Siegfried Kiefer as the chair of the independent review panel.

The advisory group was made of three volunteers – Dawn Farrell, Wayne Stensby and Edward McCauley.

According to a news release from the city, Kiefer has more than 40 years of experience managing and operating critical infrastructure.

The panel is tasked with examining what happened on June 5, why it happened and what changes are needed to prevent this type of incident from re-occurring.

The panel's review is expected to take a full year to complete.

Once it's finished, the final report will be shared with Calgarians.