Testing in 2017 revealed elevated levels of carbon and phosphorous in the Moose Lake Watershed.
The Moose Lake Watershed Society (MLWS) teamed up with the Alberta Lake Management Society (ALMS) to provide a breakdown of their 2017 test results.
Residents were invited to the Bonnyville and District Centennial Centre for the watershed society's annual general meeting, Thursday Feb. 15.
Thanks to funds from the Watershed Stewardship Grant, MLWS was able to complete tributary testing on four separate occasions throughout the summer. Teams visited Moose River, Colbert Creek, Thin Lake River, and Franchere Bay.
Many of the bodies of water showed high levels of carbon, with the highest coming out of Thin Lake River at Franchere Bay. All five also experienced a spike in phosphorous, causing algae blooms to be prevalent in 2017.
"Carbon is usually caused by decaying plant matter, or a very high vegetation area. In some ways, it's good, because it says there's a lot of vegetation, but this also shows it could be decaying," explained Nichiporik. "Phosphorous is what causes our lovely algae blooms, and there was a big spike in total phosphorus this year."
In addition to comprehensive testing of lakes in the region, MWLS conducted a shoreline cleanup this year.
"We went to Pelican Point, and we picked up over 2,200 kilograms of garbage. You could have built a house with all the nails we picked up. A lot of volunteers showed up, and it was a really good day," detailed MLWS chair Kellie Nichiporik.
The group continued their 11-year partnership with ALMS in 2017. For the second year in a row, the organizations pooled their resources and implemented a more advanced testing system than in previous years.
"This is our second time doing inter-basin sampling. Instead of taking an entire composite sample, we test each individual lake separately. It gives us a better picture of our lakes today, in terms of nutrient sourcing," said Nichiporik.
ALMS executive director Brad Peter was on-hand to go over results and field any questions or concerns attendees might have.
Peter found that Island Bay had the best water quality within Moose Lake. Overall, water quality went down in 2017 compared to 2016. Part of that can be attributed to the high water levels in the region during that time.
"Island Bay turned out to have the least chlorophyll and very low nutrients compared to other lakes in the basin. There were worse water quality conditions in 2017 than in 2016. We're not just experiencing that at Moose Lake though, that's at a lot of the lakes we test," he explained
The final presentation of the evening revealed troubling statistics regarding the fish in the lake. Walleye are as prominent as ever, but perch, pike, and whitefish numbers are significantly declining in the region.
Currently, the province is asking for feedback on which direction to take to combat this issue. This could include reducing Moose Lake to catch and release only.
With very few attendees interested in the concept of catch and release, area fisheries biologist Ray Makowecki offered a different solution.
"We need to allow anglers to reduce walleye numbers to create ecological balance. They also need to be able to continue harvesting pike, but with low-risk catching regulations.
In 2018, MLWS will continue their assessments, and once again expect to bring ALMS in for testing. This year, they're aiming to apply for tributary grant funding earlier, hoping to put it to use at peak times.
