Skating up a storm

storm pond Kids play on a small outdoor rink on a frozen pond in Rainbow Falls
Kids play on a small outdoor rink on a frozen pond back in 2013 when the same questions arose. (File Photo)

City looking at the dangers and liabilities of allowing recreational use of storm ponds

City Council has directed administration to prepare a report on the legal and liability implications of allowing the city’s storm ponds to be used for skating after a presentation on the dangers of recreational use of the ponds.
“Believe me I was with…the ones that do go out there and skate,” said Chestermere’s Mayor Marshall Chalmers of his opinion when the issue first crossed his desk.
The request for a report was made by Council at the Jan. 15 meeting after Kinniburgh residents brought concerns about the bylaw prohibiting skating on the Kinniburgh Storm Pond to council’s attention the week of January 2.
While Chalmers grew up skating on a dam, since this issue came to council’s attention he said he has been quickly educated on storm ponds and their dangers.
With this new understanding, Chalmers said he wants to know what the city’s liability is if they were to allow use of the ponds and something were to happen.
The staff report is to be presented to Council at the Feb. 20 meeting.
In addition to the legal and liability issues of permitting use of storm ponds, Council has also requested that staff include recommendations for other outdoor skating options that could be created in the city.
“I…think we have an obligation to give communities like Kinniburgh an outdoor rink,” said Councillor Yvette Wagner.
The decisions came after a presentation from Chestermere Fire Chief Brian Pomrenke about storm ponds and the dangers inherent in them and his recommendation that the city continue to prohibit their use for recreation.
In his presentation, Pomrenke explained that storm ponds in Chestermere are designed for residential flood protection and to treat runoff before if flows back into natural water systems such as Chestermere Lake.
Because of these roles, storm ponds come with inherent dangers such as variable water levels, constant in flows and overland drainage collection that can include, chemicals, salts and silt.
Pomrenke echoed Calgary’s position on storm ponds that they are, “all work and no play.”
“This is an extension of our public utility no different than sewer or water that’s brought into our city,” said Pomrenke.
The combination of the contaminants in the water and the constant flow of the water in the pond makes for poor and unpredictable ice thickness and quality.
These dangers are compounded by the fact that the in and outflows are hidden under the ice, making it impossible to observe the effect and erosion of the ice.
“We have such fluctuating temperatures with Chinooks…there is no predicting how thin or thick that ice is especially where moving water is…you just can’t predict,” said Pomrenke, “the safest choice is to stay off that ice.”
He believes that a focus on education rather than enforcement is the key to keeping people safe.
“I prefer educating,” he said, “I’ve learned a lot in the last three weeks with the issue that’s come up with storm water.”
Pomrenke said that he will be directing the fire department to start going out into the community and educating people on the dangers of storm ponds.
Like city council, Pomrenke doesn’t want to discourage outdoor skating in the community, he simply wants to ensure that it is happening in a safe fashion.
“I truly believe that we have an opportunity here to find an alternative to stay off of our storm ponds and look at adopt-a rink programs,” he said.
With the need to balance resident’s safety against recreation, there was significant debate on the issue after the Pomrenke’s presentation.
Councillor Laurie Bold disagreed with the Fire Chiefs assessment of the dangers presented by storm ponds and voiced her strong support for reviewing the current bylaw.
After stating she wanted her comments on the record Bold went on to say Chestermere calls itself Alberta’s oasis and that to her, the storm ponds are part of that.
“It seems to me that…perhaps the city’s pushing the value of the lake verses the value of the pond,” she said.
Bold stated that in her opinion, there is risk in life and common sense should prevail.
“Sometimes bad things happen, and I think that common sense should prevail whether someone would go on the pond with their kids or not,” she said, “I believe that that’s something…we should be able to as a community decided together whether we think it’s safe enough or not and maybe take the responsibility as well if something happens.”
She also said that if something does happen, the fire department is equipped to make the rescue.
“I’ve seen your station and you guys have got some state of the art rescue equipment I mean it’s amazing and I don’t think you guys are meant to just be going around the community and just looking like you’re a fire chief and not doing anything,” said Bold.
“I’ve voiced my opinion, it’s not going to change and I really do think this bylaw needs to be re-looked at,” she said.
On the other side of the issue, Councillor Wagner spoke in support of the ban on recreational use of storm ponds.
Where Bold has said her opinion won’t change, Wagner’s already has on this issue.
“I was in Chestermere with four small boys when this bylaw came into play,” she said.
“We were very close to the storm pond in Westmere and I was incredibly disappointed that suddenly my kids couldn’t skate legally and so I understand that devastation,” said Wagner, “I have four little kids, they could just walk there in two seconds and their safety was more important to me than convenience.”
Wagner believes the evidence presented on the dangers of storm ponds.
“I’m not going to argue with experts,” she said.
“The facts are the facts, this is not made up information,” said Wagner, “people always want to get the facts and then when they get the facts they don’t like them.”
She doesn’t want to see Chestermere have to deal with a tragedy like other communities in the region have.
“We don’t need a tough lesson, we need to keep our kids safe,” she said.
After discussion, council agreed that they needed more information on this contentious community issue before making a decision on whether or not to amend the current bylaws.
To view Pomrenke’s storm pond presentation go to www.chestermere.ca/875/Storm-Pond-Safety.

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Staff Writer

In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, Anchor Media Inc encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this site and downloading the Rogue Radio App. Send your news tips, story ideas, pictures, and videos to info@anchormedia.ca


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