SLSA Newsletter Update - February 15, 2007

First we would like to recap some of the background behind the SLSA as well as our activities to have Boyle find an alternate water source and to obtain approvals to pump water into the lake. As you may recall, over the past 5 or 6 years various lake users began expressing their concerns over the decline in the level of Skeleton Lake. The decline started approximately 20 years ago and has been relatively steady except for a brief spike in water levels that occurred in 1997 and 1998. Other than that two year spike, the lake level has been declining since 1987 to the point where it is now approximately 5.5 feet lower than it was 20 years ago.

Various individuals around the lake began to conduct investigations, talk amongst themselves, contact Alberta Environment and make their own inquiries independently, and in the Spring of 2005, these people came together as a group to create what would eventually become the SLSA.

At the initial meetings, all of the various information these people had been gathering independently was put together and discussed. It was determined that the lake level equilibrium was out of balance and it was feared that man-made causes were contributing to this imbalance. The group decided that it needed to look at inflow and outflow with a view to trying to increase inflow and decrease outflow to put the lake back into equilibrium. Investigations were conducted and it was determined that the cause for the declining lake level was not due to weather, or lack of rain, nor was this just a natural cycle. It was felt that through a combination of weather, evaporation, global warming, over-development and Boyle's water diversion, the lake's water equilibrium was out of balance. We knew we couldn't do much about global warming, the weather or evaporation, but we believed we could make a difference on the man-made impacts on the lake. It was decided that one of the first steps we needed to take was to have Boyle stop taking their domestic water supply from the lake. It was understood and acknowledged that Boyle's consumption was not the sole reason for the declining lake level, but it was a contributing factor. However, Boyle's diversion of water out of Skeleton Lake was a very apparent and easily addressed element of the overall problem.

We also began investigations to look into finding a nearby water source that we could use to pump water back into the lake. As early as May 2005, representatives of SLSA met with Alberta Environment staff to discuss exactly what steps needed to be taken to obtain a license to divert water into Skeleton Lake. By June of 2005, we had received a letter from Alberta Environment outlining the procedure to apply for a license to divert water under the Water Act. That letter included an application form for the license and advised us we would need an engineering feasibility study and biological assessment to accompany the license application.

From June through October 2005, SLSA conducted technical reviews and began to gather the information that would be necessary to accompany the application to pump water into the lake. In the Fall of 2005, Alberta Environment advised the SLSA of an additional requirement which would be that there would need to be a water management plan in place before any approvals for water diversions would be granted. The Government of Alberta had been facing significant pressures on its water resources and this caused the government to make some major shifts in its approach to managing water. They developed a new strategy for sustainability of water resources called Water for Life. This process was developed between 2001 and 2003 and really began to be implemented in 2004 and 2005. It was this change in approach by the Government of Alberta that required development of a Water Management Plan.

During the Fall of 2005, the SLSA began developing a water management plan after reviewing all of the relevant Water for Life documentation. We had a number of meetings with Alberta Environment officials and determined what would need to be in such a plan. The SLSA is really the first small watershed group to undertake development of a watershed management plan. Previously these plans were developed primarily by government or through very large coalitions of a variety of groups such as ours with a fair amount of assistance from government. We really became the first group in Alberta dealing with a small watershed to go through this process. We have been breaking new ground. Linked for your information is a summary explanation of Water for Life, Alberta's strategy for sustainability of water resources. During our meetings with them, Alberta Environment advised us that they would need to approve whatever plan we put together, but that they would provide assistance in putting together the water management plan and they would also provide us with a list of stakeholders that Alberta Environment would like us to consult with.

It became apparent that there were three main documents that composed a complete water management plan, being: (i) Terms of Reference, (ii) a State of the Watershed Report, and finally (iii) the Water Management Plan itself.

The Terms of Reference for the Skeleton Lake Watershed Management Plan outline the goals, objectives, processes, participants, structure and time line that will be used in developing the full Skeleton Lake Watershed Management Plan. By the end of February 2006, the SLSA had completed the first draft of the Terms of Reference and provided that to Alberta Environment. At that point, Alberta Environment advised the SLSA that the SLSA would not be preparing the Terms of Reference, but rather a working group consisting of representatives from the County of Athabasca, the Village of Boyle, Mewatha Beach, Bondiss, and the SLSA would jointly prepare the Terms of Reference.

From March through June 2006, representatives from these four municipalities and the SLSA met to work on the Terms of Reference, but it was difficult to get everyone from these different diverse groups together. As well, these groups had different interests and needs. Consequently, the development of the first document required for the Water Management Plan, being the Terms of Reference, floundered.

By June of 2006, it became apparent that this process was not the most effective process for proceeding and the five groups agreed that the Skeleton Lake Stewardship Association would prepare the necessary Water Management Plan documents. It was agreed that the SLSA would do all of the legwork and pay for all of the consultants and reports that would be required to put together the Water Management Plan and this work would be done in a consultative fashion so that all four municipalities be given opportunities to provide input. By this time a lot of work had been done on the Terms of Reference and so shortly thereafter the Terms of Reference were provided to the four municipalities for their review and input, amendments were made based on that input and mandatory public meetings were held to review the Terms of Reference.

One of the critical components and a very important requirement for Alberta Environment is public consultation. SLSA has been diligent in conducting public consultations throughout this process. We have conducted 5 town hall meetings open to the pubic in Edmonton and Boyle over the past 18 months. We have appeared before and provided formal presentations to the Village of Boyle council, the County of Athabasca council and the Boyle Chamber of Commerce. We have met informally with representatives of these organizations on numerous occasions. We have conducted formal presentations for Alberta Environment staff and have had dozens of meetings with Alberta Environment staff members. We had a number of meetings with the representatives of the four municipalities most impacted being the County of Athabasca, the Village of Boyle and the two Summer Villages on the lake. We are in the process of setting up a meeting with the Minister of Environment and continue to keep relevant MLAs informed of our activities.

Once the public consultations on the Terms of Reference had been done, the Terms of Reference were submitted to Alberta Environment for approval and on September 22, 2006, the Regional Environmental Manager of the Northern Region of Alberta Environment approved the Terms of Reference. Please find the Terms of Reference for the Skeleton Lake Watershed Management Plan and the approval letter from Mike Boyd of Alberta Environment. This approval then enabled SLSA to begin work on the next step of the Water Management Plan which is preparation of the State of the Watershed Report.

While all of this was going on, the SLSA membership was increasing and fundraising activities had taken off. As the process the government require we complete became clear, it was apparent that the SLSA would require funding to hire consultants to conduct studies and prepare reports in support of SLSA's goals and activities. It was apparent that the government would not approve a license to divert water or approve any activities on the lake until experts in their fields had examined the lake and provided scientific reports with scientifically defenceable, concrete conclusions and recommendations. By this point in time, SLSA had over 1300 members and had raised over $100,000.00 through donations and grants. That money was now needed in order to pay for some of the consultants that we would need to hire to complete the necessary reports.

The first consultant we retained was the leading environmental consultant on watershed management plans for lakes in Alberta which is Aquality Environmental Consulting Ltd. We retained them to complete two reports. The first report was the development of a State of the Watershed Report which we contracted them to complete for approximately $28,000.00. The other report was a biological water quality assessment report which required lab tests of Skeleton Lake water in order to determine compatibility with any water we might wish to pump into the lake which we contracted them to complete for approximately $20,000.00. Those two reports were initiated in October of 2006 and are currently underway and expected to be complete in the near future.

The State of the Watershed Report is basically a compilation of all data and information available on the Skeleton Lake watershed. It tells us what the current state of the lake is. One of the preliminary indications from the initial draft of that report was that there is a lack of information on ground water issues respecting the lake. The investigations of Aquality Environmental Consultants Ltd. also indicate that Skeleton Lake has some of the cleanest water ever seen by this consultant in a prairie lake. We were advised that the level of water quality is similar to the water quality levels found in mountain lakes. This lead to an initial conclusion that Skeleton Lake has a very strong underground source for its inflow as surface water typically carries organic material, contaminants, soil and biological material into a lake.

As a lack of groundwater information is now an identified gap in our understanding of Skeleton Lake, SLSA is in the process of hiring hydrologists and hydrogeologists to conduct surface water and groundwater studies on the lake and prepare a report. You will be pleased to know that SLSA has recently entered into negotiations with Komex Ltd. to complete a report which addresses this gap in our knowledge of the lake. If we retain them, then that report is expected to be complete by June 2007 and will cost approximately $20,000.00. So thus far, we have commissioned 2 reports and are in the process of commissioning a third for a total approximate cost of just under $70,000.00.

Once the groundwater report is complete and we have completed the State of the Watershed Report, we will then be in a position to move forward with the Water Management Plan which would have recommendations and plans for implementation of solutions to the problems that have been identified at Skeleton Lake.

While all of this was going on, we were also dealing with Alberta Environment, the County of Athabasca, the Village of Boyle and the two Summer Villages on the lake to encourage Boyle to hook up to the Athabasca regional water pipeline as soon as possible. In that regard, Boyle had received a grant for funding to complete a report as to viable alternatives for their water source. That report was completed in September of 2006 but Boyle refused our request for a copy of it so we were forced to obtain a copy pursuant to a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. After reviewing the report, Boyle made the decision to go on to the Athabasca regional water pipeline. The process to have Boyle go on to that pipeline is underway and we are pleased to advise that Boyle will be coming off of the lake and obtaining their water from the Athabasca River via the water treatment plant in Athabasca and a pipeline to Boyle.

Over the past year, we joined together with the Summer Village of Bondiss and the Summer Village of Mewatha Beach to obtain agreement with the Village of Boyle to install a meter at the pump house so we could monitor the actual amount of water diverted at the point closest to the lake. Boyle's current meter is at their water treatment plant in town and we wanted to be able to meter their diversion independently right at the source. That meter was finally installed at the end of January 2007 and will allow for independent verification of Boyle's water consumption. The costs of the meter and the installation of the meter were shared equally between the Summer Village of Bondiss, the Summer Village of Mewatha Beach and the SLSA. We appreciate Boyle's cooperation in this endeavour.

The pipeline from Athabasca to Colinton has been constructed and the next step is to bring the pipeline from Colinton to Boyle. However, the Athabasca Water Treatment Plant needs to be upgraded prior to any water flowing to Boyle and that upgrade has not yet occurred. SLSA is committed to working with the Village of Boyle, Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation (which is funding the pipeline and water treatment plant), Alberta Environment, and the County of Athabasca (which is partnering with Boyle for this pipeline) in order to help move this process along as quickly as possible.

We plan to have town hall meetings again this spring and hope to be in a position to present to you at those meetings the State of the Watershed Report at that time. It has been a busy two years, tremendous headway has been made and every day we see progress. We would like to express our appreciation to all of our members who have been so supportive of our efforts.