Today marks the end of a pilot project that uses the Ghost Reservoir for flood mitigation purposes.
Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (AESRD) announced mid-June that they were going to keep the Ghost Reservoir at its lowest permitted level until July 31 to aid in flood mitigation — an announcement that drew significant concern from area residents and recreational users.
The lowest permitted level is 1189.5 meters, or 65 per cent capacity.
What began as a grim outlook on the recreation season at Ghost Lake — as levels were anticipated too low for many types of watercraft to be put on the water — was saved by a ‘hot and dry first half of July’.
“The lesson we learned here is that we need to be flexible,” said Jason Penner, spokesperson with AESRD.
The province instructed TransAlta (who operates the reservoir) to begin filling the reservoir to 80 per cent capacity on July 4, with a target date of July 15, raising the level to 1190.5 meters.
On July 14, AESRD provided further instruction to TransAlta to continue to fill the level to 87 per cent, or 1191 meters, with a target date of July 31.
Penner explained that these decisions were influenced by a combination of factors, including downstream agricultural demands, long-term weather forecasts and historical data — which supports that flood risks continue to drop as July moves along.
The July 31 date has the potential to keep the water levels at their lowest permitted levels an additional 2-6 weeks longer than previous years.
Penner said the next step would be for TransAlta and AESRD to meet and discuss the pilot project; following this, area stakeholders could anticipate a public engagement session in the fall.
The province will advertise through local media, social media and online for a future public engagement session.
Mike Weinert of Ghost Lake Recreations and operations manager for the provincial campground for 19 years said while he was pleased the weather was on the side of boaters — but that his business, namely the rental of dock and mooring slips, has been impacted by around 20 per cent.
Weinert said he hopes to see public engagement and some clarifications, should this pilot project extend into coming years so that he can better plan for the 2015 boating season.
As of July 29, Ghost Lake was at 1190.86 meters; 100 per cent capacity is 1191.78 meters.
