Enjoy the views, but stay off storm water pond ice

There are more than 200 storm water ponds in the City of Calgary.

These ponds are dug by land developers, in the lowest part of a community, and are about three metres deep. For nearly 40 years, storm ponds have been an integral part of municipal storm water management, preventing sewer backups and dumping of untreated water into nearby rivers.

A pond is also beautiful lifestyle feature, an oasis surrounded by marsh reeds, bulrushes and pleasant pathways. Residential lots in new communities that back onto a sparkling pond are usually the first to sell.

A visual tonic, vital for the ecosystem, storm water ponds don't behave like typical wetland ponds or dugouts, especially in winter.

No matter how long it's been cold or how deep into the winter, the ice on a storm pond is not strong and will not hold weight. The water below is unstable and constantly moving, which is a good thing because that movement prevents mosquitoes from breeding in the summer.

Water flows through a network of 60,000 storm drains connected by underground pipes to storm ponds and with that water comes contaminants like road salt, antifreeze and fertilizer. It's part of the pond's job to filter out these contaminants, which also prevents ice from freezing properly.

As tempting as it might be to shovel away snow for a neighbourly game of pond hockey, save it for your community rink.

More information on storm ponds and storm water management is available through the City of Calgary website at calgary.ca.