EDMONTON- If you’ve been to Sylvan Lake over the past several years, you may have noticed the beach has somewhat disappeared.
“I can’t believe there’s no beach left!” Melissa Reddemann exclaimed shortly after arriving for a day at the beach Wednesday morning. “We were hoping the kids would at least have some space to play in the sand, but it’s crowded, so I don’t know where they’re going to play.”
“Everybody asks me ‘Is there anywhere else where we can go and take our kids to bring them down to the beach and play in the sand?’ And I’m like ‘no, this is pretty much it,'” added Anastasia Gladue, who works in the popular resort community doing beach maintenance.
The lack of sandy areas along the popular lake hasn’t gone unnoticed by members of Town Council.
“One of the challenges we have here at Sylvan Lake is over the last few years we’ve been having high lake levels, higher than we like. And to that end, we have no natural beach here,” said Sylvan Lake Mayor Susan Samson.
She says the town discussed a number of options as to how to address the problem, including waiting for the water to drop. However, after researching water levels on the lake, officials found historically, the lake’s current level is consistent.
“Typically, the water is at such a height that the beach is nonexistent. So we tend to remember fondly those days of the beach, but those days are rarer than you think.
“A beach is an important component,” said Samson. “People, visitors, our own residents are missing the beach.”
As a result, the town approved a $25,000 project to build a new beach. Construction began Wednesday, with sand being hauled in by the truckload. And by Friday, a stretch of the lake will have a brand new beach.
“It’s going to be awesome,” said Gladue. “There’s going to be a lot more room for people, a lot less cramping.”
“The youngsters can play in the sand, build the castles and walk right into the water with no transition,” Samson added with excitement.
With files from Fletcher Kent, Global News.
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