Tools and Methods for Sylvan Lake Stewardship

The SLWSS contributed a slideshow/poster session to the AEP Alberta Recreational Lakes Forum at Pigeon Lake on May 10. The contents of the SLWSS toolbox are included in a set of reference graphics that are presented without captions or commentary except for introductions to sections of information. Send any questions to info@slwss.org. Click here for …

Quiet Enjoyment Initiative Rejected by the Town of Sylvan Lake

The Sylvan Lake News reported on a decision of the Town of Sylvan Lake council on February 12 to decline a request for funding for the Quiet Enjoyment Initiative (QEI). The  QEI project of the SLWSS champions the rights of all Sylvan Lake shoreline populations to enjoy the watershed without disturbance by inconsiderate operators of …

Well Water Quality in the Sylvan Lake Watershed

The Alberta Health well water database is now accessible online. It contains records for 71,698 Alberta wells that were submitted for analysis since 2002 by private well owners. Click on this link to reach the homepage of the website. A tutorial is presented to coach viewers on its use. Following are some screen capture views of …

Who is Extracting Sylvan Lake Watershed Groundwater?

The SLWSS monitors groundwater consumption. Much of that well-water withdrawal is eventually exported from the watershed's surface and underground inventory as community wastewater. It is collected and processed by the Town of Sylvan Lake in its sewage lagoons. To help treated effluent on its way through Cygnet Lake to the Red Deer River, a comparable …

The Sylvan Lake Groundwater Situation in Perspective and Pictures

The Sylvan Lake watershed and its supply of groundwater are dependent on a fine balance between incoming and outgoing water. The net amount is absorbed and stored underground in the soil, porous and permeable geological glacial deposits, and local aquifers and becomes available for domestic and agricultural use. The following ERCB/AGS maps included in this …

SLWSS Comments for the Public Hearing on the Amendment of the Birchcliff Land Use Bylaw #199/17

The Summer Village of Birchcliff has invited public comment on its review of several clauses of its land use bylaw that control the size of structures and impermeable surfaces on private property. The SLWSS provided the following  recommendations on the specific and more general aspects of land use regulation on October 13: COMMENTS ON BIRCHCLIFF …

Algal Blooms Reduce Property Values

The following case history for Lake Erie shows how algal blooms have reduced real estate values and recreation uses. So keep your plant nutrients on shore on your own private property. We don't need Blue/Green algae in Sylvan Lake: In a new study, researchers at The Ohio State University estimate algal blooms at two Ohio lakes …

SLWSS monitoring of Cumulative Effects shows little change in key indicators

The value of property that surrounds water bodies can be sensitive to water quality and the condition of other natural assets. For that reason the Sylvan Lake Watershed Stewardship Society (SLWSS) monitors lake water quality, land use changes, and property valuations over time. Our report compiles in-watershed municipal data in a series of charts that are useful …

Human noise pollution is disrupting parks and wild places

This article by Rachel Buxton, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Colorado State University, is reprinted with permission from the website "The Conversation". Click on this link for the original article: https://theconversation.com/human-noise-pollution-is-disrupting-parks-and-wild-places-78074 As transportation networks expand and urban areas grow, noise from sources such as vehicle engines is spreading into remote places. Human-caused noise has consequences for wildlife, …

Sylvan Lake Shoreline Impairment Video Surveys

The Sylvan Lake shoreline has been surveyed twice using airborne video cameras to record the impairment of the riparian zone by property owners, once in 2002 for the Alberta Conservation Association and again in 2007 by Alberta SRD together with Fisheries and Oceans. These are valuable records of the cumulative effects of human impact on …