Where did all the Sylvan Lake water go?

Bob Dylan must have been thinking about Sylvan Lake when he wrote the lyrics to the song “Blowin’ in the Wind”. Because that line answers the question: “Where did all the Sylvan Lake water go?” A lot of it, about 20 million tonnes per year, 4.8% of the lake volume, just evaporated and blew away …

Sylvan Lake Level in 2019

See the lake level history as monitored by Environment Canada at the station in the WatersEdge Marina harbour. The data may be viewed at this website too: https://rivers.alberta.ca/ The lake level dropped about 0.18 metres over the lake area of about 42 square kilometres. That is a volume decrease of 7.6 million cubic metres, although …

Water Composition and Water Quality of Sylvan Lake

  This slideshow presents three decades of water quality history in pictures. It shows the concentrations of the dissolved and suspended inorganic ions and some organics that are sampled and analyzed in laboratories using standard protocols. Concentrations range over six orders of magnitude, from the key nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus that are measured and reported …

Wind Speed History of Sylvan Lake in 2019

The official Alberta Agriculture weather data recorded at Hespero west of the Sylvan Lake watershed is a reasonable indicator of wind on the lake. The following slideshow compiles and presents about 6500 hourly measurements of wind speed and direction for the period January to September 2019. It includes an expanded record of the two days …

The Sylvan Lake Watershed Stewardship Series 2019

Click on this link to view the Society's report on stewardship issues that affect the Sylvan Lake watershed: The Sylvan Lake Watershed Stewardship Series     The report is a compiled, expanded and edited version of the nine articles that were published in the Sylvan Lake News though the summer of 2019. A PDF copy …

Here’s How Sylvan Lake has Changed Over Two Decades

This is a preview slideshow of the weather and lake level data. Explanations to follow soon.

Sylvan Lake Winter 2018-19

Here is the temperature record from the Alberta Agriculture Hespero and Red Deer Airport weather stations since November 01 compared to the long term average: February has been about 12-14 C below the long term average. Lake ice should be thicker and the ice-free season shorter than usual.

Sylvan Lake Watershed Review 2018

SLWSS president Graeme Strathdee's Society report for 2018 follows: The President’s Annual Report for 2018 State of the Watershed Update The focus of our Society’s stewardship initiatives is on the state of the watershed within the red-line hydrological boundary shown in this consolidated topographical and bathymetric GIS map. In 2018 the Society collected data on Sylvan …

Water and Groundwater Maps for the Edmonton to Calgary Corridor

See this previous post on the same topic that used old WordPress technology: https://slwssnews.wordpress.com/2017/12/10/sylvan-lake-watershed-groundwater-review/

Air Temperatures and Solar Radiation Affect When the Ice Leaves the Lake

See how winter air temperatures determine the date on which Sylvan Lake becomes free of ice in April or May. There's no surprise: Cold winters mean thicker ice and a later ice-free date. Ice-free dates (the red arrows) are from the archives of SLWSS Director Susan Samson. Graphics were created using the Alberta Agriculture Weather …