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“The marina has twice been illegally established near an active hydroelectric facility and the drinking water intakes for the City of Calgary, without necessary permits or approvals,” TransAlta said in a previous statement.

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The city has also claimed that recreating on the reservoir could contaminate Calgary’s drinking water, considering the marina is just upstream of the intake for the Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant.

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“We want to remind visitors to the Bearspaw Reservoir and surrounding areas that access to and recreation on the reservoir is strongly discouraged, and access to the reservoir within eight kilometres upstream of the dam trespasses on private property belonging to the dam operator,” states a city web page devoted to the reservoir.

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“There is no on-water emergency response on the reservoir, putting life safety of reservoir users at risk. The Bearspaw Reservoir is dangerous for both experienced and inexperienced watercraft users because of strong currents, fluctuating water levels and steep embankments.”

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The web page notes a Bearspaw Trilateral Task Force, involving representatives from Calgary, Rocky View County and TransAlta, is developing a long-term management and implementation plan focused on “balancing recreation on or near the Bearspaw Reservoir with the protection of water quality and management of public safety needs.”

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The plan will address permitted recreation activities, access points, vessel management, emergency response, enforcement, environmental health and other matters required to manage recreation on the reservoir, according to the city.

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In an statement Friday, a municipal spokesperson said phase 2 of the Haskayne Legacy Park involves replacing a previous road and railway crossing with a new road alignment and CPKC rail crossing. The new roadway includes a fence to separate it from the park’s regional pathway.

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“These changes were made to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists travelling through the area,” the city said, adding access to Bearspaw Marina has been “maintained throughout construction while the new roadway alignment is being completed.”

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“Safety remains our top priority, and we will continue to monitor access arrangements as construction progresses,” they added.

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After a public hearing in the spring of 2025, the previous city council supported a staff recommendation to redesignate two undeveloped roads through Haskayne Legacy Park, in an effort to choke off access to the marina.

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Barriers have been put up in Haskayne Legacy Park in another attempt by the City of Calgary to block access to a marina on the Bearspaw Reservoir. Photo by Azin Ghaffari /Azin Ghaffari/Postmedia

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But the marina found a loophole by simply moving the dock to the neighbouring Bearspaw Tree Farm, a property in Calgary city limits that Skauge also owns.

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Emma Lindsey, the Bearspaw Marina’s manager, said the business welcomes hundreds of customers on hot days and strives to operate as safely as possible. Every customer is required to wear a life jacket and every boat and jacket has a GPS tracker, she said. The marina has its own motorboat that patrols the reservoir every 40 minutes, and every employee is trained in first aid and has a boating licence.

The business won’t rent boats when winds are blowing more than 20 kilometres an hour, Lindsey said, adding all boaters are required to return to shore when winds are above 25 kilometres an hour.

“If we can’t run safely, we won’t run,” she said.

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The fencing set up in Haskayne Legacy Park this week won’t only prevent public access to the marina, but also may hinder emergency vehicles from accessing the property, Lindsey argued.

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“You have no choice at this point but to feel like this is absolutely personal and someone is highly motivated to put us out of business,” she said.

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