Gleniffer Lake also known as Gleniffer Reservoir or originally Lake Gleniffer is an

artificial Artificiality (the state of being artificial or manmade) is the state of being the product of intentional human manufacture, rather than occurring naturally through processes not involving or requiring human activity. Connotations Artificiality ...

lake in

central Alberta Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province. Agriculture and energy are important to the area's economy. Geography Central Alberta is bordere ...

, Canada created in 1983 by the construction of the

Dickson Dam Dickson Dam is a flow regulation dam constructed in 1983 which impounded the Red Deer River creating a reservoir known as Gleniffer Lake (Alberta). The dam is located west of the town of Innisfail and southwest of the city of Red Deer. The dam ...

which impounded the

Red Deer River The Red Deer River is a river in Alberta and a small portion of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is a major tributary of the South Saskatchewan River and is part of the larger Saskatchewan-Nelson system that empties into Hudson Bay. Red Deer River ...

, a major

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

South Saskatchewan River The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. For the first half of the 20th century, the South Saskatchewan would completely freeze over during winter, creating spectacular ...

which flows into the Saskatchewan River Basin. It lies at an elevation of , and is approximately long and wide. The lake is south of Highway 54 and east of the

Cowboy Trail The Cowboy Trail is a rail trail in northern Nebraska. It is a multi-use recreational trail suitable for bicycling, walking and horseback riding. It occupies an abandoned Chicago and North Western Railway corridor. When complete, the trail will ...

, west of

Innisfail, Alberta Innisfail ( ) is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located in the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor, south of Red Deer, Alberta, Red Deer at the junction of Alberta Highway 2, Highway 2 and Alberta Highway 54, Highway 54. History The town's name ...

and east of Caroline. The lake has a surface of , and a watershed of . It has an average depth of , and reaches a maximum of . Gleniffer Lake has day-use areas, cottages, a campground and resort developments including Carefree Resort and Gleniffer Lake Resort. The lake reservoir is a source of drinking water for the surrounding area.

Dickson Dam

regulates the flow of the Red Deer River to control for floods and low winter flows, to improve quality of the river, to create a recreational resource and to provide a reliable, year-round water supply sufficient for future industrial, regional and municipal growth.

Gleniffer Reservoir Provincial Recreation Area

Gleniffer Reservoir Provincial Recreation Area Bryanston, Gauteng is an affluent residential suburb of Sandton, South Africa north of Johannesburg . First named as an area in 1949, it was established in 1969 as a suburb of Sandton and provided with tarred roads and municipal service but after ...

(PRA) is a recreational area with a beach, various fishing areas, boating, camping and resorts. In the summer of 2009, Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation consolidated six provincial recreation areas at Dickson Dam and around Gleniffer Lake (Dickson Dam–Cottonwood PRA, Dickson Dam–Dickson Point PRA, Dickson Dam–North Dyke PRA, Dickson Dam–South Dyke PRA, Dickson Dam–North Valley PRA, Dickson Dam–South Valley PRA) into one provincial recreation area renamed Gleniffer Reservoir PRA. Motorboating, waterskiing, swimming, and sailboarding are allowed. There are rainbow trout in a trout pond. Pike, Walleye, Rockies, and Brown Trout are also found nearby. Gleniffer Reservoir PRA has trout ponds including one at Dickson Point which is popular for ice fishing.

Environmental concerns

Pipeline leaks

Increased water flow of the Red Deer River system during heavy rainfall in June 2008 eroded supporting soil, freely exposing a section of Pembina Pipeline Corporation's Cremona crude oil pipeline to the Red Deer River currents. About of crude oil flowed upstream from the breakpoint under a Red Deer River channel, leaving an oily sheen on Gleniffer Reservoir and of oil-soaked debris. The pipeline, leased to Pembina, was built in 1959. The remediation was completed in 2011.

Rangeland pipeline incident

Heavy rains in early June 2012 caused a similar but larger leak on a Plains Midstream Canada 46-year-old pipeline at Jackson Creek which spilled between of light sour crude into the Red Deer River.

References

{{authority control Lakes of Alberta Reservoirs in Alberta Red Deer County