Thanks to MD of Bonnyville Reeve Ed Rondeau, attendees of the Moose Lake open house left feeling like progress had been made.
Thanks to MD of Bonnyville Reeve Ed Rondeau, attendees of the Moose Lake open house left feeling like progress had been made.
Residents effected by high water levels on Moose Lake filled the Eastbourne Community Hall July 18, expecting to voice their concerns and have questions answered. Representatives from Alberta Environment and Parks, the MD, and the Summer Villages of Pelican Narrows and Bonnyville Beach were on hand to provide information.
Instead of holding a question and answer session, Environment and Parks elected to display their findings for the community to see.
"There are a lot of organizations here. Sometimes if you run a meeting like that, it can be hard to get all the groups in. We tried to make this as seamless as possible for people, those who have specific questions can go to whichever display they need," said Jamie Hanlon, public affairs officer with Alberta Environment and Parks.
For many concerned residents, that wasn't good enough. As depicted in the many graphics around the hall, water levels on the lake are the highest they have been since the 1950s.
Homeowners worried if they didn't start discussing a solution soon, the consequence would be severe flooding and property damage.
"I've been at the lake every summer of my life, and the water has never been this high. From an emergency planning point of view, we have heard nothing at Bonnyville Beach. I would expect there to be an opportunity to ask questions, communication is a two-way street," expressed John Brosseau, property owner at Bonnyville Beach.
Before long, it was evident Brosseau wasn't the only one who felt matters weren't being properly addressed. The room quickly started becoming restless.
It looked as though nothing but frustration would come from the open house, until Rondeau stepped in.
"I know we agreed that this would be an open house, but absolutely nobody is getting any satisfaction out of this. No questions are being answered," he said.
Opening the discussion, Rondeau revealed the MD received a letter from the Alberta Government stating Moose Lake residents didn't qualify for emergency funding.
While attendees had no problem looking after their own property, they were worried for the future.
If something isn't done about the water levels soon, the MD could be facing a much bigger problem.
"The funding is a secondary issue, all of us live on the lake and we're all quite willing to do whatever we can to protect our properties. We need to know what the province is actually capable of doing in the near future to help us out," stated Rondeau. "We're facing winter here, and if next spring is a wet one, there's going to be water everywhere."
Levels are so high, water has started to overtake the weir in Moose Lake. Regardless of weather this fall and winter, the situation will only get worse.
The solution everybody seemed to agree on was eliminating the weir itself.
"This is nothing compared to next spring when the ice melts. You can't sit here and tell me the water wouldn't go down if we took the weir out," said MD Coun. David Fox.
Altering the weir may not come as easy as it sounds. Because of the surrounding wildlife, Environment and Parks would have to conduct nearly a year of research and studies before they could remove or even take a foot off the weir.
Listening to the advice of his residents, Rondeau decided the MD would send a letter to the province, asking them to consider bypassing policy due to the severity of the situation. Bonnyville-Cold Lake MLA Scott Cyr also committed to sending a similar letter from his office.
For those in attendance, the solution came as a welcoming surprise, after initial confusion.
"Rondeau really turned a negative night into a positive one when he took over this meeting. People needed their turn to voice concerns. I really think good will come of this and it wouldn't have otherwise," said Brosseau.
