ATHABASCA - Large boats can have a large effect on the ecosystems of local lakes and at least one Athabasca County resident wants to educate the public on what those effects can be.
Ken Stashko paid a visit to Athabasca County councillors at their May 12 meeting to ask council to consider some kind of education campaign to let boaters know just what happens when a high horsepower boat is operated in a shallow body of water.
Stashko used the example of Island Lake, just west of Athabasca, which is roughly 10 feet deep in most area, although depths of up to 30 feet can be found in certain areas like Deadman’s Bay.
“Island Lake is a shallow lake, with a mean depth of 12.5 feet … and of course it has many islands, but there are two major effects that large wakes have on Island Lake,” said Stashko.
Large wake boats increase the amount of downward turbulence created, he said, which disturbs the sediment on the bottom, along with any contaminants that may be stored there.
“This creates a suspended plume of nutrients, and these nutrients, like phosphorous, feed blue-green cyanobacterial growth, commonly called blue-green algae, although it’s not algae, it’s a bacteria, which is a problem because it is toxic,” Stashko told council.
“The bottom sediment deposit is the key method a lake has to remove phosphorous and contaminants, that’s the way the lake gets that out of the water column, so disturbing the bottom sediment is kind of a crucial thing.”
The shorelines of lakes are also impacted.
Besides the effects large wakes also have on docks and docked boats, erosion of the shoreline is also a consideration, as are the nesting areas of native birds on the lakeside.
Stashko went on to outline some of the ways different jurisdictions have combated the large wake issue, with some creating up to 300-metre no wake zones and others outlawing motorized watercraft altogether.
Stashko told councillors he had made presentations to councils at the summer villages of Island Lake and Island Lake South and had their support for an initiative to educate the public with signage on the lakeshore and on any municipal websites, and he was asking for the same support of the county.
After some discussion later on in the meeting, council passed a motion to direct administration to provide education on the impacts of boating on aquatic ecosystems and to discuss this information with the summer villages.
“At first I thought he was going to ask us to ban these boats, which isn’t in our capability, but if he has approached both summer villages, I don’t mind the idea of doing a one-third cost split on some signage and put some information up on our website,” said Coun. Christi Bilsky.
Deputy reeve Travais Johnson pointed out much of the information presented was available on government websites and could easily be transferred over to signage.
Coun. Dennis Willcott said he needed a lot more information before he could make a decision.
Coun. Penny Stewart said, “I don’t think there is anything wrong, at this time of year in sharing education.”
