The water was pouring into the Dundee community ice rink Monday morning, and volunteers were staying out of the spray as best they could.
Despite snow and wind, Ryan Basye of Dundee Bank was leading a team getting the popular community ice rink filled.
“We have to wait for three days of below-freezing temperatures for the water to get solid,” he said. “It's all weather-related.”
Near the corner of Happy Hollow Boulevard and Underwood Avenue, the 48-by-60-foot rink needs an estimated 30,000 gallons of water. A city truck was on hand to pump water from a nearby hydrant.
Basye and other workers had gotten the walls of the rink up, and were wrestling with the tarp that will serve as the based of the rink as the water flowed in.
“It's a big, cold swimming pool right now,” Basye said with a laugh. “We've had somebody try and (position) the tarp and be up to their knee (in the water). We had to send them home.”
Although the site of the rink had been plowed, workers were moving around the periphery in knee-high drifts, making sure the walls were secure and the tarp was attached.
The rink is maintained by the Dundee Memorial Park Association and the Dundee Bank, Basye said.
Once frozen, the rink is open for free skating.
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
