City to enhance safety measures at 15 storm ponds across Calgary
The City of Calgary is set to install additional safety measures at 15 storm ponds across the city.
The planned enhancements include replacing old signage and installing new signs to raise awareness of risks, and increasing vegetation to create a barrier to the ponds. Permanent and temporary seasonal fencing will also help create physical barriers to public access in some locations.
The additional measures are part of an ongoing commitment to improving safety around storm ponds, the city said in a news release issued Thursday.
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“Through a review of ponds across The City, these locations were identified as the highest priority for safety enhancements,” the written statement said.
Nicole Sparks with the city’s water services department said the enhancements, including signage and physical barriers, are based on physical assessments of the ponds and 311 call data about reports of recreational activities.
“We keep track of where people are reporting activities around storm ponds. So that could be things like skating on storm ponds, or people fishing or even recreating,” Sparks said.
The goal is to raise awareness and prevent unauthorized access through public communications and physical improvements, Sparks said.
“Storm ponds are working stormwater facilities, and they are never safe to recreate on.”
Sparks emphasized unsafe conditions on storm ponds including changing water levels, poor water quality and sediment runoff.
“Due to rapidly changing water levels, muddy bottoms and poor water quality from the sediment and pollutant runoff, storm ponds are not safe for any recreational activity in summer or in winter,” she said.
The announcement comes after a seven-year-old girl drowned after entering a storm pond in the city’s southeast last month.
The incident prompted calls for more safety measures from local residents and water safety experts.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on calgaryherald.com — the content belongs to Calgary Herald.
