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City of Chestermere warns of storm pond dangers after youth falls through ice

The City of Chestermere is reminding residents the dangers of storm ponds, after a child fell through the ice at the Kinniburgh storm pond on Jan. 15.

The City of Chestermere is reminding residents the dangers of storm ponds, after a child fell through the ice at the Kinniburgh storm pond on Jan. 15. 

According to a press release from the detachment, Chestermere peace officers received a call from a member of the public, who said they were concerned they had seen a youth had fallen through the ice. The witness told the City the child was able to self-extricate and leave the scene.

"[Peace officers] attended the scene, located the hole in the ice and spoke with several witnesses," the release stated. "They have been unable to locate the child or the child’s family."

Chestermere Fire Services was also dispatched to the area, according to the release. Upon thorough search of the location and the water, they were able to determine the child had been freed.

In order to confirm the wellbeing of the child, peace officers are now asking the child’s family to reach out to them as soon as possible. Anyone else who has information relevant to this situation is asked to contact Chestermere peace officers at 403-207-7058 or by emailing [email protected].

According to Shawn Press, a community peace officer with the City of Chestermere, the need to warn residents not to venture onto storm ponds has become increasingly apparent this winter, as more people are recreating outdoors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Typically, this is an issue we deal with each and every winter as storm ponds freeze up,” he said. “However, this year, we’ve seen an influx in people, due to the fact people are home, looking for something to do during provincial restrictions.”

Press said the danger of storm ponds stems from the waterways’ rapidly changing water levels, which can weaken the ice – regardless of how cold it is outside.

“As we all know, storm ponds are not natural water settlements – at least not all of them,” he said. “They’re typically man-made and developed in such a way that water consistently flows in and out.”

As temperatures rise, Press said snow and ice melt and go down a drain, some of which ends up in a storm pond, along with sediments and contaminants from the roads. This can create variations in ice thickness.

“Due to this, they’re unpredictable and we can’t keep accurate measurements of the ice thickness,” he said. “Depending on the time of year and the temperatures outside, some parts of these ponds can be very thin and weak. This obviously poses a danger to people being out on them.”

According to a report from Global News Calgary, the City of Chestermere has applied sand on some local ice surfaces to discourage residents from skating. The City states it offers 13 outdoor rinks throughout the city and on Chestermere Lake. Locations can be found at chestermere.ca/skate.

Scott Strasser, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @scottstrasser19

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