With cooler temperatures, outdoor winter activities are ramping up, but storm ponds are not safe for recreational activities.
“Our teams regularly review safety practices and, while these surfaces have been used for recreational outdoor skating in the past, we have more and more information to suggest that stormwater facilities are not safe for recreational activities,” said Jim Jorgensen, Utilities Manager with The City of Red Deer. “With reports of dangerous incidents in these facilities in other municipalities, we are simply not comfortable with continuing to open these surfaces for recreation use.”
Red Deer is just one in a growing list of communities that have determined storm ponds should not be used for recreational activity as the constantly flowing water beneath the surface of the ice can create soft spots, which are a significant safety hazard.
Red Deerians are asked to stay off all storm ponds and exercise caution on all natural ice surfaces.
More information about storm pond safety can be found at https://www.reddeer.ca/stormwatersafety.