Water efficiency is coming to the Sunshine Coast Arena in Sechelt, along with a number of upgrades to the Gibsons and Sechelt arenas as mandated by provincial safety authorities.
Last fall ice installation at the Sunshine Coast Arena was delayed because of Stage 4 drought conditions. To prevent this from happening again, the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) will replace a condenser with a new one that uses a closed-loop cooling system, at a cost of $125,000, funded by capital reserves. The Gibsons arena already has a similar system in place. The change will be finalized at an upcoming board meeting.
“This change would have a significant impact on overall water consumption. Preliminary estimates suggest up to a 45 per cent reduction for water used for ice processes, meaning ice installation, cleaning and refrigeration over the course of a season,” said Ian Hall, general manager of planning and community development, at a May 10 committee.
Hall also pointed out that “drastically reduced” water demand with this new system will make it easier to consider other options, such as using non-potable sources, groundwater or rain-water capture. Staff are planning to conduct a feasibility study with ice user groups.
Meanwhile, other changes are coming to arenas on the Sunshine Coast.
In October 2017, an ammonia leak at a skating rink in Fernie, B.C. killed three men, in addition to triggering a seven-day state of emergency and the evacuation of 55 homes nearby the arena. The accident spurred authorities to assess rinks throughout B.C., including Sunshine Coast arenas.
As a result of those assessments, more than 60 mandatory upgrades have been issued to SCRD arenas by WorkSafe BC and Technical Safety BC, including adding new signs, updating procedures and installing or upgrading equipment.
More than 200 arenas have been assessed and at least two have been closed in the province, but it’s also put a strain on professionals qualified to implement the upgrades. “The market for refrigeration engineering and specialty trades is under an extreme load,” according to an SCRD staff report.
The SCRD arena upgrades are expected to cost between $150,000 and $330,000 and will be funded through existing capital and operating reserves. Hall said the ice installation dates for the fall are expected to remain the same, with Gibsons ice ready Aug. 20 and the Sechelt arena ice installed Sept. 23.
