Lakes drying up

[Big Grey Wolf]

Pigeon lake property owners are being quite proactive in trying to clean up lake. Need to get cabin owners to not discharge their sewer into lake, limit the use of phosphate fertilizer on lawns and hay fields near lake will help in future.
Also insure intensive cattle operations on creeks feeding lake do not allow poop to flow to lake. Lastly need to limit to much development on lake.

[shotgunsteve]

Originally Posted by Big Grey Wolf

Pigeon lake property owners are being quite proactive in trying to clean up lake. Need to get cabin owners to not discharge their sewer into lake, limit the use of phosphate fertilizer on lawns and hay fields near lake will help in future.
Also insure intensive cattle operations on creeks feeding lake do not allow poop to flow to lake. Lastly need to limit to much development on lake.

These are actions that all landowners and farmers should be taking. It's unfortunate that the province seems to require some policing to ensure it happens.

[CranePete]

So, one of the most productive fishing lakes here, Sheridan, has no inflow. Basically spring fed with precipitation. In 22 years, I don’t recall it dropping much if at all. Same thing for Bridge Lake. Some years, lots of precipitation, others not so much. Do springs not play a role in the lakes of Alberta?
CranePete

[The Elkster]

Alberta's water system is waaaaay different than BC. Most lakes in BC have snow capped mountains around to feed springs, creeks etc. year round. AB prairie not so much. Its spring snow melt and some rain and your hooped otherwise. Also with the combo of little flushing due to relatively little water in the system and lots of farming the % of pollutants that stay in the lake is far higher. I expect BC watersheds have flush rates magnitudes higher than anything in AB. AB lakes are generally shallower as well which doesn't help with water temps. and winter kills and changing water levels.

[Ronji]

Originally Posted by Big Grey Wolf

Pigeon lake property owners are being quite proactive in trying to clean up lake. Need to get cabin owners to not discharge their sewer into lake, limit the use of phosphate fertilizer on lawns and hay fields near lake will help in future.
Also insure intensive cattle operations on creeks feeding lake do not allow poop to flow to lake. Lastly need to limit to much development on lake.

I know that at Argentia, and Silver beach are on a sewer system. I am not sure about the other areas if they are on a sewer line.

[skidderman]

Two or three yrs ago at Lessor Slave Lake the water was low enough on the Slave River that many could not get their boat out. Last year with days of rain the river was so high it was flowing backward. Highways were being washed out & at one point we thought our campground might be flooded. Nature is the one in control. Other factors might make some difference but can't hold a candle to nature. Looks like cycle to me & that cycle might be 5 yrs or 25 yrs.

[KinAlberta]

I was told that beavers aren’t being seen as the pests that there once were because the dams hold back sediments, organic matter, fertilizer, toxins, etc. so the dams clean the downstream water and hence the lake water.



Beavers do 'dam' good work cleaning water -- ScienceDaily
May 9, 2018
https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0509121552.htm

[Redneck 7]

Originally Posted by Big Grey Wolf

Pigeon lake property owners are being quite proactive in trying to clean up lake. Need to get cabin owners to not discharge their sewer into lake, limit the use of phosphate fertilizer on lawns and hay fields near lake will help in future.
Also insure intensive cattle operations on creeks feeding lake do not allow poop to flow to lake. Lastly need to limit to much development on lake.

How’s that possible? I live on lac ste Anne lake and everyone has to have holding tanks to get sucked out when full. Since we’re so close to the water we’re not allowed sceptic fields. I doubt they dump sewage into the lake.

[Talking moose]

Originally Posted by Redneck 7

How’s that possible? I live on lac ste Anne lake and everyone has to have holding tanks to get sucked out when full. Since we’re so close to the water we’re not allowed sceptic fields. I doubt they dump sewage into the lake.

Different county different rules? I’d bet the pigeon lake now is tanks only, maybe the existing cabin sewage was grandfathered in? Interesting question.

[darren32]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

Different county different rules? I’d bet the pigeon lake now is tanks only, maybe the existing cabin sewage was grandfathered in? Interesting question.

I have a place on Wabamun and have a septic field granfathered in but I have never heard of anyone anywhere discharging sewage into the lake. No way that is happening. If it is, it needs to be reported.

[Talking moose]

Originally Posted by darren32

I have a place on Wabamun and have a septic field granfathered in but I have never heard of anyone anywhere discharging sewage into the lake. No way that is happening. If it is, it needs to be reported.

I don’t think that’s happening at pigeon either. But I’m sure the run off takes a fair bit of some of the septic areas towards the lake.

[KinAlberta]

Are there any studies on the actual impact of cottages around lakes?

We used to see a local ranch bulldoze all its animal waste onto the frozen creek. My brother also spotted a septic tank truck dumping all it’s load into a low laying area not far from a creek. He reported it and whoever it was he talked with said it was legal because it was far enough away from the creek to meet the rules. (So maybe within the letter of the law but still able to pollute the creek big time.)

That said, it seemed that all the focus, responsibility and blame is always put on cottage owners while others fly under the radar.

[darren32]

Originally Posted by KinAlberta

Are there any studies on the actual impact of cottages around lakes?

.

They did assessments for every lake front property on Wabamun last year.

Mine is attached if you want to take a look. Some of it is specific but a lot pretty generic.

[CranePete]

Thanks, Elkster, that makes a lot of sense.
CranePete

[Kim473]

Originally Posted by 260 Rem

Hastings Lake, about 40KMS SE of Edm. Highest water level was in 1998, has since lost 10 vertical feet of water. So 20 yrs drought in the area. We have not even seen run-off for about 10 years.
Regarding property ownership to the water: The original Alberta surveys around lakes read “all land not covered by the waters of”. There are still some of those titles in existence. The subsequent subdivision of lake front properties were approved only when a specified setback from the “high water mark” was set aside as Environmental Reserve.

And a year or two before 1998. Some test wells within a mile of the lake were drilled and found nothing. Probably drilled through the water caverns and found empty caverns. Now the lake is draining into those. JMO !
Uncle has a farm on the north side of the lake. His well dried up about the year 2000



Have had a cottage there since the 60"s

[KinAlberta]

Originally Posted by darren32

They did assessments for every lake front property on Wabamun last year.

Mine is attached if you want to take a look. Some of it is specific but a lot pretty generic.

Some interesting points there.

We have a boathouse and a deck close to the water’s edge and both block light.

I do plan to cut down quite a few trees between the front of a cabin and the water but overall this won’t affect anything much.

We never use fertilizers and our old outhouse is unlikely to have any real effect either.

I’d say our biggest impact is the large area of grass we mow.


The low water allowed us to pick up many 5 gallon pails full of broken beer bottles and junk from in front of our place. The beer bottles were scary in that people fishing sunk them and in the winter they cracked, burst or split. Many stayed upright with essentially 5-6” tall spikes of glass.

[darren32]

Originally Posted by KinAlberta

Some interesting points there.

We have a boathouse and a deck close to the water’s edge and both block light.

I do plan to cut down quite a few trees between the front of a cabin and the water but overall this won’t affect anything much.

We never use fertilizers and our old outhouse is unlikely to have any real effect either.

I’d say our biggest impact is the large area of grass we mow.


The low water allowed us to pick up many 5 gallon pails full of broken beer bottles and junk from in front of our place. The beer bottles were scary in that people fishing sunk them and in the winter they cracked, burst or split. Many stayed upright with essentially 5-6” tall spikes of glass.

That is terrible about the beer bottles. What lake is that on?
My kids are in the water all the time and that would not be good.

We are pretty lucky here, not much to clean up. A few ice fishing leftovers but not too bad. The only thing that bothers me is when people leave half burnt logs on the ice. In the spring they float just under the water and they are black. Hit one this spring and it cost me $3,000.00.

We are on a pretty high hill so I don't think we have a big impact either. There is quite a bit of buffer there.




I found this bottle on the hill this summer when we were building a tree fort. Date on the bottom is 1956.

[coyoteman]

Medicine lake,in Jasper park, has no above ground run out,every aug, it "drys" up cant wait those pesky trout, now have very little place to hide,finally i can catch a few---Just saying not always bad--------

[260 Rem]

Originally Posted by Kim473

And a year or two before 1998. Some test wells within a mile of the lake were drilled and found nothing. Probably drilled through the water caverns and found empty caverns. Now the lake is draining into those. JMO !
Uncle has a farm on the north side of the lake. His well dried up about the year 2000

Have had a cottage there since the 60"s

Years ago I filed an objection to the drilling of an “oil well” which was about 700M from my well (lake front lot). Before the well got the green light, the company was required to do flow tests on my water well as a future reference in the event of problems. They came back a couple of years later to do a follow-up and the flow rate had not changed.