Gleniffer Lake closed to public

Boaters and swimmers are being urged to avoid Gleniffer Lake on this first weekend of the summer, as crews continue to clean up an oil spill.

"The water level is definitely low right now. It's also quite murky. But also because there's still cleanup efforts ongoing and the extra boat activity would definitely hamper those efforts," said Alberta Environment spokeswoman Cara Van Marck Friday.

A pipeline owned by Pembina Pipelines lost pressure on Sunday, leaking up to 200 barrels of sweet crude oil into the popular recreational lake, which is fed by the Red Deer River.

Restrictions also remain on drinking water in the area, about 130 kilometres north of Calgary.

Van Marcksaid preliminary results of tests of the lake water are encouraging.

"All of them indicate that the levels are within water quality guidelines," she said. "We are going to be waiting for some more information, some more data. So right now, we're just being cautious and the restrictions will remain on the drinking water as well as access to the lake."