Are our lakes healthy?

 Visitors stopped in at the Shiningbank Lake beach area last Friday to learn more about our lakes water quality, invasive species, and the effects of farming close to bodies of water. Lake Health Day, a collaborated joint effort with Yellowhead County and several organizations such as Alberta Fish and Wildlife set up tables for visitors to stop by and speak with the varying representatives or take information pamphlets home.

Bradley Peter, of the Alberta Lake Management Society, showed visitors his display which included information on lake management and health. The Society is responsible for a lot of lake monitoring within Alberta, which includes checking water quality and checking for invasive species. Peter said, “We work with the public to take us out on the water so we can collect the data.”  2016 was the first time the Society went to Shiningbank Lake to check the water quality. The results of those tests showed that Shininbank lake was a very productive lake.  Peter further explained, “a productive lake is one that has a lot of nutrients and ability to grow lots of algae and cyanobacteria. The key nutrient we are concerned about is phosphorous, which is in fertilizer, waste, agriculture, and industrial activity which can then run into the lake.” Phosphorous can drive the growth of cyanobacteria, which causes blue-green algae, which is now present at Shiningbank Lake. While cyanobacteria is a naturally occurring organism, it’s the amount that can become a concern as it can produce a class of toxin called Microcystin. Microcystin is a liver toxin that can make both animals and people quite ill if ingested. Bradley said “phosphorous is going to be found in all our lakes, it’s just a question of have we artificially increased the amount in the lakes and did we need to do something to limit that. We don’t expect every lake in Alberta to be a swimming pool, but we want to make sure they are in a state that is natural to where they should be.” The Society does not compare one lake to another but tracks and monitors each lake independently. There has only been one year of data collected for Shiningbank Lake, so not enough to track water quality changes over time. Bradley added, “citizens can reach out to the society if they want to increase monitoring on this lake or any other.” Requests for monitoring can be made by calling the Society at 780-702-2567 or email info@alms.ca.

Janine Higgins, Community Engagement Liaison with Alberta Environment and Parks was on hand to discuss the aquatic invasive species in our lakes. Issues currently are goldfish, crayfish, and the flowering rush plant. Higgins said “often the goldfish found are from people dumping them into stormwater ponds. They can grow to be the size of dinner plates. We’ve also been starting to find Koi fish. The largest one so far has been pulled from a body of water near St. Albert weighing 18 pounds. The problems Koi and goldfish cause is they survive through the winters and are taking over the habitat and reproducing quite rapidly. They change the water quality and stir up the sediment at the bottom. Higgins explains, “the stormwater pond’s job is to allow the sediment to settle at the bottom and clean it a little bit before it flows to a downstream water body. Once goldfish are in there, they drag the bottom for food and continually stir up sediments”. There are reports of invasive species in our surrounding bodies of water, but Higgins noted, there are no reports of any found in Shiningbank Lake. Residents can report sightings to the Environment and Parks hotline at 1 855 336 BOAT (2628) or through their website at www.eddmaps.alberta.ca