This winter season, be safe while enjoying the outdoors and stay off storm ponds. Any recreational activity including skating, sledding, or even walking across a storm pond is not allowed under the Stormwater Bylaw because it’s simply not safe.
With more than 300 storm ponds across the city, they might look like natural ponds, but they don’t function the same and the ice is less predictable.
Unlike a normal pond, storm ponds are designed to collect runoff to protect communities from overland flooding and clean water before returning it to the river. The water in storm ponds contain road salt and other contaminants that eat away at the ice. Beneath the ice surface, water is constantly flowing, and levels are changing as water moves between inlet and outlet pipes. This weakens the ice and creates unstable air gaps and vary the ice thickness.
Looking to safely skate? Skaters of all levels can use one of the over 65 volunteer maintained Adopt-a-rinks in communities across Calgary or a City of Calgary natural ice rink. Rinks maintained by The City are among the safest places to skate because they are checked daily for ice thickness and quality, and surfaces are flooded as needed to make sure they’re safe for skating. To find safe outdoor skating rinks near you visit calgary.ca/rinks.
