The pond at the Crosslink County Sportsplex is temporarily closed after industrial oil was poured down a sewer drain in the area. The County of Grande Prairie says it found out about the incident on May 23rd and that it happened somewhere on 85 Avenue and 105 Street.
While the county says there is not currently a risk to the public, Reeve Leanne Beaupre says the safest thing to do was to close the pond.
“The health and safety of our residents is paramount, so we have closed the site to the public until the site has been cleaned, all environmental assessments have been completed and we have confirmation there is no danger to the public.”
Alberta Environment and Parks, as well as environmental mitigation specialists, have been called in to help assess the site and provide advice for clean up.
People are asked to avoid the area until further notice. Beaupre says there is no timeline on how long the clean up will take or when the pond will reopen.