Calgary mayor says city considering replacing water pipe that ruptured

Calgary's mayor says the city is considering ways to strengthen a key water main for the long term, including replacing it altogether. 

Jyoti Gondek says in the spring the city could add a liner or a sleeve to the pipe to strengthen it, or dig alongside it and built an entirely new one.

The pipe in northwest Calgary ruptured in early June, drenching a stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway and nearby parkland. 

The break forced Calgarians to undertake a series of water conservation measures, from not watering lawns to taking shorter showers. 

Western Canada's cold snap in January causes $180 million in insurance damages

Extreme cold near the start of this year in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan has led to a damage bill that the Insurance Bureau of Canada says is more than $180 million. 

The bureau says about 70 per cent of the insurance claims related to the extreme cold were for personal property and damage caused by frozen and burst water pipes. 

The cold moved in Jan. 12, breaking dozens of daily minimum records, including in Edmonton where there were four straight days of cold ranging from minus 40 to minus 45 degrees.