An open house will be held at Ghost Lake Recreations June 14 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., where Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resources Development (ESRD) and TransAlta will be on hand to provide information on the recent decision to keep the Ghost Reservoir at its lowest permitted level until July 31.
The decision to use the Ghost Reservoir as part of the provincial flood mitigation plan appears to quell flood anxieties as the one-year anniversary of the epic June 20, 2013 flood approaches.
But some Ghost Lake recreational users are concerned that the decision is overkill and will not only negatively impact the boating and recreational season, but will also cause safety concerns on Ghost Lake.
“I’ve been an avid boater on Ghost Lake for 15 years,” said Graham Mehain. “From my experience, I’ve never seen flood levels in July on this lake.”
Mehain said he completely understands the decision to wait to begin filling Ghost Lake until the end of June (this has historically taken place around mid-June) but the July 31 date doesn’t seem to make sense and could have a devastating impact on recreation at Ghost Lake.
Starting to fill the lake on July 31 would likely mean Ghost Lake wouldn’t fill until mid-late August – the latter part of the summer season due to flow rates.
This would appear to be the case for Mike Weinert, owner/operator of Ghost Lake Recreation and operations manager of the provincial campground for the past 19 years.
Weinert explained that keeping Ghost Lake water levels at the lowest point the Department of Fisheries and Oceans would allow (until July 31) would mean that he won’t be able to rent out an estimated 40 per cent of his dock slips and mooring balls.
“Ninety per cent of our campers here are boaters, so they just won’t come here,” he explained, adding that portions of the marina will remain unusable for most of the summer because of the shallow water.
Weinert said he is 100 per cent in support of flood mitigation, but overcompensation with the July 31 date as a long-term solution would inevitably put him out of business.
With facilities that store some 300 boats, Weinert said if this pilot program extends beyond this year, his boaters would be forced to take their business elsewhere.
“It affects me as a business, but it affects owners because what are they going to do with these boats?” he said, pointing out that the Cochrane area boats less than an abundant landscape of lakes.
Mehain also pointed to the potential dangers of exposed rocks in shallow areas and how this may become of particular concern for novice boaters — a sentiment echoed by Mike Gardiner, who has been an avid boater at Ghost Lake for 20 years.
“The implications for the people recreating on the lake are that there are some seriously hazardous areas of concern (with respect to navigation),” explained Gardiner, who is concerned about the possibility that TransAlta and ESRD may seek an even lower low point in the future — something that Gardiner said may also impact the spawning grounds of certain species of fish.
Jason Penner, public affairs officer with ESRD, said “July is still considered a high risk for floods” and that while the July 31 decision would inevitably impact recreation at Ghost Lake, “this is the solution we have come to …it’s a great starting point.”
Penner said “all these concerns were taken into consideration” for the sake of the pilot project and that the decision was prompted by a “big picture view” as flood mitigation is at the top of the province’s priorities list.
He said that the decision, which was announced last week, was reached very quickly with the consideration of being in the ‘thick of the flood risk season’ and added that the there was a limited public consultation process.
Weinert said he learned about the decision through newspaper articles and was not consulted as a stakeholder or informed of any public consultations.
TransAlta spokesperson, Julie Gathercole, said the “water management is such a complex issue” and due to the complexity of it, as well as the abundance of stakeholders, TransAlta sought direction from the province.
With respect to seeking a ‘new low’ in the future, Gathercole said this would be “part of a larger discussion, which would take a lot longer to reach resolution”.
Gathercole said TransAlta maintains a flood action plan in place but the June flood of 2013 was an unavoidable catastrophe courtesy of Mother Nature.
Weinert, Mehain and Gardiner all said they hope to see a solid turnout of boaters and recreational users of Ghost Lake turn out this Saturday.
