Spring could bring change to Accidental Beach
Riverbank may be under snow and ice, but spring melt could change contours
A water expert who monitors the North Saskatchewan River said what Edmonton’s Accidental Beach will look like when the ice melts is anyone’s guess.
The beach, which formed downstream from a construction berm last spring and captivated Edmontonians last summer, is beneath a layer of snow and ice for the first time in its brief existence. Parts of the beach appeared to be submerged in the icy river earlier this month.
Hans Asfeldt, manager of water literacy with North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper, said Friday the beach won’t undergo many changes during the winter.
“What’s really going to be important is the spring freshet,” he said, referring to the peak flows that accompany the snow melt.
“It’s going to be very interesting to see what that does to the beach as water levels lower into the summer months.”
Accidental Beach formed off a riverbank in Edmonton’s Cloverdale neighbourhood this past spring, thanks to a berm built for the Tawatina LRT bridge. The berm slowed the silty river during the high spring flows, allowing sand to accumulate downstream in the North Saskatchewan River.
Water levels tend to be lower during the winter, Asfeldt said. Releases from the Bighorn Dam near Nordegg keep the river artificially high during the winter months to maintain electricity production.
This spring, it’s possible some of the sand on Accidental Beach could wash away, Asfeldt said. But the high waters could deposit even more sand.
“What we do know is it will change, whether in small ways or big ways, the contours will be different,” he said. “As a canoe paddler myself, we always say you never paddle the same river twice. It really is always changing, certainly from season to season and even from day to day.”
The berms that helped form the beach will be in place until 2020, a city spokesperson said.
This month, Riverkeeper released the results of a summer water quality monitoring project on the North Saskatchewan.
Like previous studies, it found water quality declines as the river flows through the city and picks up runoff. The study is unique because it focused on recreational areas as opposed to drinking water treatment plant intakes, Asfeldt said.
The study measured E. coli levels at four beaches, including Accidental Beach. Health Canada considers water with E. coli levels higher than 200 colony forming units per 100 mL of water to be high-risk for water-borne illness.
Accidental Beach was above those levels on half the samples taken. Upstream, the sandbar at the Fort Edmonton footbridge passed all of its tests.
Asfeldt said the experience with Accidental Beach shows Edmontonians love the river and support investments to keep it clean.
“They want it clean enough for swimming and fishing and they’re very much willing to spend the dollars to keep it clean and to protect it,” he said.