On Thin Ice

by Lorna Lowe

Friday, December 07, 2012

The City of Leduc wants residents to be aware that they are no longer testing storm water or reservoir pond surfaces for ice thickness over the winter months.

For safety reasons the City has decided to no longer encourage the use of reservoir and overflow pond surfaces for winter sports. Fluctuating water levels create an unstable surface on these ponds due to the fact that water movement does not allow the water underneath to freeze evenly. This creates pockets of thinner ice in unknown areas, so even with the testing of a safe ice thickness in one section of a pond, there have still been reports of children falling through the ice.

So in an attempt to reroute the public to the many safe ice surfaces that have been created around town, the City will no longer be clearing the snow from pond surfaces or testing the ice thickness. All City operated ponds will have signs posted stating that they are closed. If Enforcement Services witness people using these ponds they will require them to leave immediately or risk being fined.

Neighbouring municipalities such as Edmonton and Spruce Grove have implemented the same policies on their storm water ponds.

Seventeen recreational ice surfaces have been created around the city for public use, including eight casual use ice surfaces and nine hockey ice surfaces with nets. A complete list of ice surface locations can be found on the City of Leduc website.

There is one exception to the rule though. The north and south ponds at the Civic Centre (Alexandra Park) will be made available pending ice thickness levels, with the north pond maintained as a hockey surface and the south pond as a casual skating surface. The water levels in these particular ponds can be controlled to a much better extent and will freeze solid in very cold weather.

More Stories:

Friends Ride for MS and Each Other DominiqueVrolyk The Pipestone Flyer Leduc & Camrose – It was promoted very well, featured in all the national and local media, it raises much needed funds every year for a great cause, it will celebrate a 25 year milestone ...
Pastor On The Move Pastor Grant McDowell from Leduc Alliance Church was recognized for his many contributions to this area and wished well by the Leduc Regional Chamber of Commerce at their recent luncheon on his upcoming move to Cranbrook ...
Chamber President Moves On Leduc Regional Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Stefanie Schulz was given an emotional goodbye from her staff and board at the June Chamber luncheon which was that last one she would be attending. Stefanie announced ...
A History of Humour Leduc County Councillor Jocelyn Mackay (on left) partnered up with Pearl Gregor of the New Sarepta Historical Society to sell a special 19 month calendar created just for the Society by world famous cartoonist, and New Sarepta's ...
Sacred Heart Phantom of the Opry Opry star, Carlotta Baraccuda, played by Cassidy Luchka, sings as cast members surround her with umbrellas. The drama productions by Sacred Heart School in Wetaskiwin continue to reveal the genius of Ken Mastel in bringing ...
39/20 Alliance Representatives from Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation met with members of the 39/20 Alliance on June 4, 2013 for a grand tour highlighting potential tourist attractions within each community. (l to r): AB Tourism, ...
Grad Class of 1958 Submitted by Ernest Jablonski After 55 years, the first class to graduate out of the present day Thorsby Junior Senior High School together with their mates gathered at the Our Lady of Victory Parish hall on Friday June ...
Bringing the Gospel to the World Speaker Alberto Gonzalas and Director of Fund Development for Trans World Radio Canada, Gary Roebbelen, with a TWR poster following the TWR dinner at Calvary Baptist Church. Trans World Radio is the largest radio broadcaster ...
Seniors Dine & Dance Nearly 80 seniors from Warburg, Thorsby and Breton celebrated Seniors’ Week together with a special luncheon held at the Warburg Pioneer Community Hall on June 4, 2013. Alberta Seniors Program Advisor Laura Pawlechko ...
Wetaskiwin Inline U-16 Junior Ice Head South For AAU Olympics New to Wetaskiwin this year is the sport of inline hockey. Inline has been around for a while in the Edmonton area and as of this year has officially started in Wetaskiwin. Thanks to Craig Podritske who got the ball ...
High School Soccer Concludes The high school soccer season ended with all three girls teams from Christ the King (CTK), Leduc Comp, and Beaumont were defeated in the city playoffs. Both Leduc and Beaumont won their cross over game as the Tigers ...
Lessons to be Learned Life wasn't always easy on my eighty acres. It took a lot of work to build a farm here. This had been a bare piece of land with a north rise and a spring. The land had never been plowed and Labrador Tea, mint, nettles, rose ...
Leduc County Hits Gold Artist Jeanine McIntosh was the winner of the art contest for the County's 50th Anniversary. Jeanine said that her painting encompassed everything that the County means to her as well as having a representation of the ...
Seniors, Write It Down Bob Layton with “The Old Guy” June 4th was a beautiful, sunny day. A perfect day for gardening, going for a walk, mowing grass; in fact, almost any outdoor activity. Still, the parking lot at the Falun Hall was filled with ...
Bartender Challenge wind up party. Dale Leitner, Rikki Karba, Sandy Berube, Dorothy Mayall, Britney Benson, Bonnie Caskey, Jason Seghers from Alberta Cancer foundation. Everyone else is from Ensign Energy. Almost $30,000 was raised for various charities.
Ronald Presents Ronald McDonald started his day in Wetaskiwin with a trip to the library where about 30 children with their parents gathered to see him. He got down close and personable as he kept the children's attention as he talked about ...
Toonies for Torino Jack Almond is decked out in his race finery to raise funds for both his trip to the 2013 Masters Games in Turin Italy and for the local charity Everybody Gets To Play. Something doesn't have to be big to make a difference. ...
Calmar Students Grab Silver & Gold Two grade 10 Calmar Secondary School students win silver and gold in the Precision Machining--Secondary Category at the Provincial Skills Competition held in Edmonton on May 15-16, 2013. (L to R) Calmar School Industrial ...
ATB Gives to Black Gold Hospital Foundations Leduc ATB Manager Steve Greene presents a cheque for $1616.90 to Lorraine Popik from the Black Gold Health Foundation. Half of this money was raised from the recent penny drive the BGHF held and the remainder of the funds ...
Central Office Grand Opening Serving local businesses and individuals with office supplies at competitive prices has been the focus of Central Office Supplies Ltd. since opening its doors 9 years ago. On Friday, June 7th, they will be opening their ...