Natural beauty hides crumbling infrastructure at Edmonton's Beaumaris Lake

When north Edmonton residents want to find a natural setting, manyhead to a manmade lake.

BeaumarisLake, just off of Castle Downs Road and 153rd Avenue, is a stormwatermanagement facility built in 1977.

Over the years, nature has reclaimed itsedges, creating a beautiful scenic spot to walk. But the crumbling infrastructure ensures that visitors have to watch their steps.

"For the longest time [on the] north side, that was what we had," said Edmonton teacher Andrew Parker, who brings students to enjoy walking the trails that surround the lake.

"If we wanted to see a little piece of the forest or whatnot, and lakes and whatnot, that is what we had to do. Otherwise we had to go all the way outside of the city, outside of the town to get that experience."

The city manages more than 230 different stormwater management systems. Now 40 years old, Beaumaris Lakeis one of the oldest.

It's also one of the largest, with a perimeter of 2.5 kilometres.

Some of the brick walkways are uneven and stairs have been fenced off due tosafety concerns. The city says it has become difficult to repair these issues during routine maintenance.

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Part of a larger move toupgradestorm mitigation, the city conducted apilot project between October 2015 and October 2016 called theBeaumarisLake Condition Assessment.

Theassessment will be used as a template to assist the city in studies of other storm management areas.

According to areport by the engineering firmStantec, more than $5 millionwould be needed for short-term repairs toBeaumarisLake. The same report says a long-term rehabilitation plan would require $34 million in spending.

"The next step is to go into thecommunity and gather feedback from the citizens for what they would like to see in that area," saidMarlis Foth,the city's director of open space planning and design.

"If we are going to go replace something, we want to make sure it is meeting the needs of the citizens of today and maybe not of the citizens of thirty years ago."

Until upgrades are made, residents are encouraging each other to continue enjoyingthe natural beauty.

"I would argue that it's not just a utilitarian usage," Andrew Parker said of the lake.

"It is more than that for the people of the community."