Concerns were raised about the safety of the lake water after a Chestermere resident posted a video to the Facebook page I Love Chestermere that showed rust coloured water draining in to the lake last week.
“That’s a normal part of our operations that we would expect that little bit of seepage to be pumped out and be diluted.
“That should not cause any harm at all,” said the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Western Irrigation District (WID), Ray Kettenbach.
The rusty water that was captured in the video came from a standpipe located on the dam that collects water over the winter months.
“We have a tile drainage system installed and it catches a little bit of seepage,” he said, “and then it drains into a metal standpipe that’s in the ground to collect all of that and then it gets pumped out in the spring.”
Kettenbach describe the drainage system as being similar to the sump pump installed in residential homes. The system drains into the lake during the warmer months after water reaches a certain level.
As water sits in the standpipe over the winter it may cause the metal to rust, which causes that first drainage of water to be discoloured with a higher concentration of rust.
“That’s a normal part of our operations,” said Kettenbach.
Another part of spring operations that the WID began on Mon. April 24, was to begin filling the lake to the regular summer water level.
“We’ll start diverting water in Calgary, so it will take a little while,” he said.
Kettenbach expects that residents should notice the water level increasing by midweek.
