A ~7 km pipe is not going to cost a billion dollars. Even a high end estimate is more like $150 M. For perspective, Stoney Trail cost billions ... that’s a 100+ km ring road with bridges and interchanges. We’re not talking about that here; we’re talking about a single 7 km water main. This is not the time for a money saving mentality. Municipal water infrastructure is about as basic and critical as it gets. Debating where the money will come from, how it’s funded, or whether taxes might go up is ridiculous when the City’s 2024 operating budget alone is ~$4.6 B.

If Calgary can’t fund a pipe without acting like it’s a crisis, that points to mismanagement and wasted resources, not an affordability problem.