Hastings Public Works began the process of flooding rinks across the city for the winter season. The flooding process began on Dec. 9 and can last anywhere from as few as 10 days to several weeks depending on cooperation from “the will of Mother Nature,” said Hastings Public Works Operations and Maintenance Supervisor Corey Likes.

And this year, like the year before it, Mother Nature has had something to say about the city’s goal of having rinks flooded by winter break. As of Dec. 17, the city forecasted that “with next week’s highs forecasted in the mid 30’s to lower 40’s it’s unlikely outdoor rinks will be open over winter break.” The city cited the higher-than-average temperatures spiking into the 40s as delaying the flooding process.

To flood the seven rinks overseen by Hastings Public Works, crews drive a 23,000-gallon tank truck that sprays 5,000-8,000 gallons of water into the city’s rinks daily working from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Unlike using an ice resurfacer, often referred to by the brand name Zomboni, spraying water is again highly dependent on an ideal temperature range around 10 degrees. The city’s tank truck pulls water from nearby fire hydrants which comes out around 50-60 degrees. Ice resurfacers warm water so that it freezes evenly and doesn’t crack. For spraying water to flood rinks, if the temperature is too warm, the ice doesn’t freeze evenly. If the temperature is too cold, “the ice pops,” said Likes, explaining that the 50–60-degree water will crack as it freezes, looking “like someone punched a pane of glass.”

While temperature is key to the flooding process, once a rink is in place, the real threat is the sun. “The sun just eats the ice right away,” said Likes explaining that a rink can withstand periods above freezing if there isn’t direct sunshine. It is the sun that will melt a rink long before warm temperatures.

To combat the sun’s interference with the flooding process, some cities will have public works crews working overnight. It is a practice that Hastings has stopped due to fewer rinks being flooded and the financial costs of overtime for crews.

While “every year is different,” on when and for how long the city will have rinks flooded, the period that rinks are able to stay frozen has been shrinking for decades. It is a dwindling season with which Likes is intimately familiar. When he started with the city in 1999, the city regularly had rinks flooded in mid-November, a goal that has long since been abandoned. “Everything has moved back 2-4 weeks,” said Likes.

When cities are able to initially flood rinks has been pushed back into December, a goal that wasn’t achieved last year and is unlikely to be in 2024. In addition, the season has shortened on both ends with ice melting on rinks starting earlier into February instead of in March.

With the fire at the Lion’s Park Warming House, only the hockey rink will be flooded in order to keep skaters away from the damaged structure. The electrical systems of the rink were also damaged during the fire so the rink will only be open during daylight hours.

For more information about Hastings rinks and updates on when rinks are flooded, visit the City of Hastings’ website at https://www.hastingsmn.gov/city-government/city-departments/parks-recreation/parks-trails/warming-houses-outdoor-rinks