Shaughn Butts did his homework.

He searched the City of Calgary website. He read signage near the reservoir.

He couldn’t find anything to indicate that standup paddleboarding wasn’t allowed on Calgary’s Glenmore Reservoir, where canoes, kayaks and sailboats are a common sight.

So he took his board on the reservoir earlier this month.

“It was a beautiful night. I just wanted to go for a paddle with some family. There was nothing that indicated I was in the wrong,” said Butts.

Then the rescue boat showed up.

“I was on my way back and the rescue boat just made a beeline for me,” said Butts, who lives in Edmonton.

The boat’s operators told Butts standup paddleboards aren’t allowed on the reservoir and he had to get off the water.

Standup paddleboarding is said to be one of the world’s fastest growing sports but, as Butts learned, there are few places in Calgary where enthusiasts are allowed to partake.

Butts’ reservoir mishap left him lamenting the lack of online information and signage regarding the sport at the Glenmore Reservoir — a problem the city says it’s working on.

While many within Calgary’s small paddleboarding community know about the reservoir rule, visitors such as Butts often don’t.

“We need to make sure there’s better information on the web and at the site. We’re actually working on both of those,” said Doug Bruneau, a complex co-ordinator at the City of Calgary.

The situation also sparked a discussion between Butts and city staff about why standup paddleboarding isn’t allowed on the Glenmore Reservoir and it’s an issue those within the sport’s Calgary’s community say is worth examining.

“Sports evolve all the time and (the city) needs to be more open to what’s going on in the community,” said Graham Woods, lessons co-ordinator at Undercurrents in Bowness, where standup paddleboards are a hot commodity.

“We can barely keep the boards in stock,” Woods said. “It’s an extremely popular sport.”

Woods teaches standup paddleboard lessons on the Bow River and said beyond the Bow and private lakes, there are few places within the city to indulge in the sport.

Many enthusiasts take their boards out of the city to the Ghost Reservoir, Chestermere Lake and various bodies of water in K-Country.

“There’s certainly not a whole lot of options, unless you’re willing to travel a little bit,” said Tom Stewart, shop manager at Aquabatics Calgary.

Stewart said the Glenmore Reservoir would be a great resource for Calgary’s small but growing standup paddleboard community.

But Bruneau said it’s not likely the Glenmore Reservoir bylaw restricting standup paddleboards will change.

“There is only so much capacity on the reservoir. There is so much going on out there right now. We add another group and can it sustain that?” he said.

Sailboats, kayaks, canoes and rowing sculls are allowed on the reservoir. Swimming, kitesurfing, windsurfing, paddleboarding and inflatable devices are some of the many activities that are not allowed on the water.

The Glenmore Reservoir supplies drinking water to Calgarians and swimming is not permitted on the large body of water to protect the integrity of the water.

“Some people argue what about the seagulls and the birds. Yes, we get all that but one of the challenges is when people are out on these hot days they have sunscreen and all that on and our filtration system doesn’t do well with that. It’s not meant for that. Our job is to minimize the impact,” Bruneau said.