Leaks found at Brett Ice Arena

During a time when the summer youth and competitive hockey seasons are ready to begin, the Brett Memorial Ice Arena is unusually quiet. After discovering a problem with the compression of the refrigerant used to freeze the ice, arena officials were forced to close the doors of Brett Memorial until further notice.

During a routine examination of facilities in early May, arena manager Allan Ervin said, leaks were discovered to be the cause of a drop in the compression of the refrigerant that maintains the temperature of the ice.

"They are small pinhole leaks," Ervin said. "Not enough to cause major concern, but we don't want the problem to escalate."

Ervin could not project the severity of the problem, but according to a manager's report released on June 11 by the Mat-Su Borough, if the entire system needed to be replaced, the estimated cost would be $330,000.

Underneath a normal ice surface is a sheet of cement and encased in the concrete are groups of pipes, stretching the length of the ice. The refrigerant runs through the pipes, and when working properly, the system helps maintain the frozen ice.

Ervin said one leak has been found and fixed, but the entire problem has not been solved. Once a leak is repaired, the pressure of the system must be tested, according to Ervin.

"It's a slow tedious process, to test," Ervin said. "Finding the leaks in the cement is very hard."

Arena officials must continue to search In order to find the additional leaks. To find the leaks, sections of the cement have to be broken out of the floor of the rink. Ervin said the difficulty of the project, and what consumes the time, is the search.

According to Ervin there currently is no specific time table for the completion of the repairs. As soon as they locate and patch the leaks and the compression of the refrigerant is back to normal, Ervin said the rink will be back in business.

Each year the arena undergoes a series of tests. Ervin said about 10 years ago arena officials found a similar problem under the ice of the Brett Arena, and attributes the age of the facility to the problems.

Ervin said the closure of the facility has affected the schedules of several of the summer hockey leagues.

"When I realized that we weren't going to be open I contacted the teams and suggested they contact other arenas," Ervin said.