School officials say closure of the Foothills Falcons field isn't ideal, but it won't stop them from giving their players somewhere to kick off next season. The south football field outside the Foothills Composite High School was closed Jan.
School officials say closure of the Foothills Falcons field isn't ideal, but it won't stop them from giving their players somewhere to kick off next season.
The south football field outside the Foothills Composite High School was closed Jan. 10 after regular testing indicated elevated methane levels in the ground from a former landfill at the site. The length of the closure is unknown at this time, but Town officials say it could be up to a year.
“It would obviously be an inconvenience, but if it is going to be closed for any length of time we'll be looking at making some alternate arrangements to make sure we're able to offer the programs that have been offered at the school,” said Drew Chipman, Foothills School Division assistant superintendent.
The field is home to the Foothills Falcons football team, as well as the school's rugby team and for track and field practices and Diversity Games during the school year.
The Town of Okotoks and the Foothills School Division made the decision to close the football field until further testing is conducted.
“It's an abundance of caution,” said Chipman. “We certainly want to make sure that we're ensuring the safety of students, staff and community.”
The playing field was once the site of the Okotoks' landfill, which was closed in 1982 and reclaimed by Alberta Environment before it was transformed into a football pitch in 1985. The Town has tested and monitored the ground in the area for more than 30 years to keep an eye on methane levels, which were declining until this past summer.
According to Alberta Environment, a safe methane level is about 500 parts per million.
Brian Couronne, facilities management manager for the Town of Okotoks, would not specify levels measured at the site, but said it was “pretty high, a lot higher than that.”
“We don't anticipate there being any problems, but we just want to err on the side of caution,” he said. “You never know with a landfill what got put in there, so that's one of the things we want to find out – what's going on with the landfill, with the methane.”
Couronne said the increase was likely caused by excessive rainfall last summer, which raised the water table and stirred up gas emissions beneath the field.
“The rain saturated the field and elevated the water table, and it's caused the field to sort of burp, and it's caused the methane to rise up and get the elevated methane testing results,” he said.
Couronne said he's been testing the fields for years and had seen levels declining until increased rain this summer brought different results. He said the Town was prepared to approach Alberta Environment for a relaxation to the testing regime because nothing out of the ordinary had been found in years prior to the summer of 2016.
Couronne said there had been no change in methane levels since August, which drove the decision to close the grounds.
Testing will continue in the coming months, and the field will remain closed until methane levels drop. It could be up to a year, he said.
“We're just kind of doing our due diligence in order to keep the kids playing football safe, and anybody else who may be using those fields,” said Couronne.
Methane, a naturally-occurring gas produced by largely by decay, tends to occur in concentrated amounts in or near landfills, he said.
The Town will continue to work closely with Alberta Environment to conduct testing and monitor methane levels at the site, he said.
