Why can’t Edmonton find a solution?
Calgary, Drumheller and Red Deer found ways to save theirs. Why can’t Edmonton?
The future of Edmonton’s final city-run wading pool is on the line with a plan to cut water levels and redevelop the city hall fountains.
But dig deeper and it’s clear not every municipality is dealing with strict Alberta Health regulations the same way — a fact that could be relevant when council is presented with new options for the pool redesign early in the new year.
Drumheller splurged and bought a new $200,000 filtration system this year to save its iconic wading pool under the dinosaur. Calgary created a series of $350,000 skidmounted filtration systems and now has four city-run wading pools across the city.
Red Deer simply diverts water from the Red Deer River for its wading pool at Discovery Canyon. The renovated tube run and manmade beach reopened with Alberta Health’s blessing last summer.
Edmonton will get one more chance to save its beloved city hall pool.
When Postmedia News broke the news on planned fountain changes, the public cried out — and they were heard right at the top. Deputy city manager Adam Laughlin says staff will bring options to a council meeting early in the new year.
But he argues a complete renovation is required and must conform to the 2007 health regulations.
The current design calls for cutting water levels to 15 centimetres, or roughly ankle-deep.
Here’s a tale of four cities:
RED DEER USES THE RIVER TO MAKE A BEACH
Red Deer has an interesting solution to Alberta Health filtering regulations — make the wading pool a natural water feature.
Alberta Health gave its blessing to Discovery Canyon, a lazy river and urban beach that reopened this year after a $2-million facelift.
The renovation fixed trip hazards and realigned the lazy river to ensure there were no pockets of standing water trapped in corners. But the basic concept remains the same: Natural, untreated river water is diverted and pumped uphill to the free public amenity.
It carries tube riders down a gentle man-made river, fills a wading pond at the bottom, then flows back into the Red Deer River.
“It’s constantly flowing,” said Barb McKee, with Red Deer Parks and Recreation. The water is untreated but constantly monitored and had no issues this summer. “It’s treated like a natural feature.”
The city also has two spray parks — one that filters and reuses the water. It’s still debating what to do with a shallow fountain used as a wading pool downtown.
DRUMHELLER BITES THE BULLET, SAVES AN ICON
Drumheller’s big wading pool and fountain in the shadow of the town’s Tyrannosaurus rex statue is a trademark for a town known for dinosaur tourism and research.
It fills with local kids and visitors on a hot day, so the town resisted calls to shut it down, despite letter after letter from Alberta Health officials, said Paul Salvatore, director of community services.
Eventually, Alberta Health gave them two options: drain all 105 cubic metres of water every day or install a filtration system.
They chose the first. It was a massive operational headache, Salvatore said. Last summer, they chose the second, even though it was a major expense for a small town budget: $200,000.
“Because it’s been there for almost 20 years, removing that wading pool would have been pretty disappointing,” Salvatore said. “The fountain and the wading pool were built to be one and the same, integrated. It’s become kind of a trademark.”
The water gets to about 45 centimetres deep, roughly the same depth as Edmonton’s city hall pool.
CALGARY CREATES A NEW SKID-MOUNTED SYSTEM
Calgary still has four public cityrun wading pools available for splashing on hot summer days. The city faced the same new health regulations Edmonton did but had fewer pools to begin with.
Rather than switching to spray parks, Calgary designed a series of small, skid-mounted filtration systems that could be moved in place for the summer months. They cost roughly $350,000, said Doug Marter, manager of planning and infrastructure for Calgary parks.
“For us, it’s really a water conservation issue and it was costeffective,” Marter told Postmedia in 2015.
He and other parks officials were on vacation and not available to comment this week, but Calgary spokeswoman Kaila Lagran said the city now has four wading pools: Bowness Park, Eau Claire Plaza, Prairie Winds Park and Riley Park.
Calgary also added several spray parks with recirculation and treatment systems. All sites have city attendants.
EDMONTON GOES ON A SPRAY PARK SPREE
Edmonton had at least 33 wading pools, many run by community leagues, when the new Alberta Health rules took effect in 2007. It required wading pools to filter all water every two hours.
Random tests in 2003-04 found unacceptable levels of bacteria, so Edmonton created a $3.8-million plan to help neighbourhoods cope.
According to Postmedia archives, the basic $130,000 conversion installed six nozzles to spray water into the former pools and let it drain away. The potable water was used once, then drained to the Gold Bar Water Treatment plant. That allowed parks to be run without staff supervision.
Many neighbourhoods upgraded to more complex spray parks, but none filter and recirculate water. Even the filtration system installed at the Queen Elizabeth splash park was turned off when staff found it complicated to operate.
Edmonton’s second-last wading pool — Paul Kane Park in Oliver — reopened as an untouchable natural pond this year at a cost of $3.3 million.