How do you fill a 21-acre, eight-metre-deep hole in the ground with water?
"Slowly, I think," Michaela Davis, Melcor's regional manager for Edmonton North, chuckled.
So far, Melcor has hauled about 310,000 cubic metres of dirt (roughly 310,000 wheelbarrow loads or enough to fill 124 Olympic swimming pools) from an excavation in the northern St. Albert neighbourhood of Jensen Lakes – and they're not even done yet.
The massive, man-made private lake will be the linchpin of the neighbourhood, spanning a wealth of water and ice sports from canoeing, fishing and swimming in the summer to skating and hockey in the winter.
The dirt being dug up to create the lake will be used to help construct the rest of the neighbourhood.
A change in the design plan means the lake won't have island lots in the centre anymore. Davis said the island was removed from the design in 2017 mostly to ensure water quality.
The lake will be stocked with fish (possibly trout, although that hasn't been set in stone) and will be accessible from private docks around the lake as well as a dock at the neighbourhood's beach club. It will have a sandy beach as well.
"A lot of the size and specifications have been designed according to different environmental studies that we've done and general planning principles that we've researched from other man-made and naturally occurring lakes," Davis said.
"Right now, (we're) just excavating the lake, and then the next step would be to finalize the clay liner so the lake is lined with clay."
Once clay adds another layer of impermeability, Melcor will be working on a stone edge that will run along the perimeter of the lake.
A lake's worth of water
From balancing depth and plant growth to studying soil conditions and wind patterns, Melcor has completed numerous environmental studies on the lake. But the big question remains: What about the water itself?Davis said Melcor is exploring several different methods of filling the lake, from naturally occurring water to city water.
Whatever method they decide on, Davis said "it will definitely include purchasing water from the city."
A response from the city to an inquiry from Coun. Natalie Joly on how the lake will be filled says the lake's designer is currently weighing short- and long-term costs of filling the lake.
"The latest discussions with the consultants have them looking at the option of using a well to fill the lake as well as to continually fill it at an as-needed basis," the city stated, noting that option has some possible drawbacks such as on-site water treatment and groundwater replenishment.
"The final design has not yet been completed and no formal application to the city has been made through the development permit process," the city added.
With all the underground infrastructure currently in place in Jensen Lakes, water would be piped into the lake.
"There won't be much ongoing maintenance because it will more or less function like a naturally occurring lake," Davis said.
"It will, in time, develop its own natural ecosystem, which will help keep the water clean."
Jensen Lakes staff will still need to monitor water quality and an aeration system will be installed.
"We're really excited about it. It's starting to take shape, and digging the lake is a pretty big deal," Davis said.
How big is it really?
Some quick math shows us one acre is 4,046.86 square metres.
Since the lake is 21 acres by eight metres deep, the volume will be 679,872.48 cubic metres.
That's almost 680 million litres, which is equal to ...
- 272 Olympic swimming pools
- 427.5 Fountain Park pools (leisure, small, competition pools and whirlpool included)
- 8,981,854 20-gallon aquariums
