BONNYVILLE – With recurring toxic blue–green algae blooms at Moose Lake, the MD of Bonnyville council is hoping a letter to Minister of Environment and Parks Jason Nixon will spark action in treating the lake’s algae problem.
On March 9, MD council carried a motion to send a letter to the minister highlighting council’s “support of addressing ongoing algae concerns on Moose Lake.”
A letter to the minister was left broad intentionally after multiple companies approached the MD offering individualized chemical treatments to address Moose Lake’s seasonal algae blooms and internal phosphorus loading.
“I see no downside in supporting this, because the Alberta government still has to do their research and studies and I know it'll be a few years in the making,” said Coun. Darcy Skarsen.
Conversations around chemical compound treatments on Moose Lake were sparked after the company Algae Control Canada proposed an Aluminum Sulphate (Alum) treatment for the lake. It would be a Canadian-first treatment for a body of water that large.
Since then, other private companies, such as EutroPHIX based in the United States, have reached out to the municipality to offer their own chemical treatments for algae control, with some companies offering a lower price for treatment.
While council agreed that the algae problem needs to be addressed, they didn’t feel they had the expertise to select one treatment for Moose Lake over another. This resulted in a general letter of support to Alberta Environment and Parks asking for the province’s involvement in selecting an algae treatment.
“It doesn't even have to be Alum,” said Coun. Dana Swigart, echoing Skarsen’s stance. “I think it just sends a good message to the province that we have an issue with Moose Lake and that we need help.”
With many municipalities and companies using chemical compounds to treat algae blooms in the United States, Skarsen indicated that this type of water treatment isn’t new – although it is new in Canada.
“We are in support of the province taking a hard look at this and moving forward with the solution. And it may or may not be (the Algae Control Canada) group, but they need to know that we are in support of their help,” commented Skarsen.
Council agreed that while they would not identify any particular company, they would be asking Minister Nixon to invest some time and resources into researching different options for treatment of algae in Moose Lake.
A history of wanting to improve Moose Lake
For many residents who live around Moose Lake or use it recreationally, recent conversations around using chemical compounds to treat blue-green algae blooms may seem out of the blue, says Executive Director Kristina Morris for Lakeland Industry and Community Association (LICA).
However, wheels were put in motion for treating the toxic algae on Moose Lake about four years ago.
“Three to four years ago, the MD approached (Algae Control Canada) to see how they could potentially solve Moose Lake’s algae issues. Algae Control Canada at the time couldn't provide an answer, because there wasn't enough available data to definitively determine a solution. So even though there has been data collected in the past from Moose Lake Watershed Society, they recommended, at that time, that more monitoring and studies be done,” explained Morris.
The company had specifically asked for a phosphorus budget and a sediment study.
Results for these studies were recently published after the Moose Lake Watershed Society successfully acquired grant funding to carry out the additional tests on Moose Lake.
“Now that Moose Lake Watershed Society had funded the phosphorus budget, and they recently published it, it came back into Algae Control Canada's radar, which is why they have since looked at it and then engaged the MD again, and the public,” she said.
“Based on the research and based on other factors, Alum is what they proposed,” Morris said, adding, it wasn’t until Algae Control Canada organized their own virtual community engagement session on Nov. 15, that LICA had known anything about the water treatment proposal.
“They had the one engagement session, and it doesn't really seem like there was a lot of community buy-in for this Alum application,” she stated.
This mirrors feedback that Reeve Barry Kalinski and other councillors said they received from residents.
“A lot of people have phoned me direct and said they are pretty leery of this as well, the people that live along the lake. So, there is a lot of opposition to this too. So, we have to be careful what we're supporting here,” said Kalinski on March 9.
“It's a pretty big decision... It's a pretty big thing to be supporting.”
Treating Moose Lake
Representatives from Algae Control Canada and HAB Aquatic Solutions spoke as a delegation before the MD of Bonnyville council to outline a Canadian-first Alum pilot project to manage chronic blue-green algae blooms on Moose Lake on Jan. 12.
During that delegation they asked council to send a letter of support for the Alum treatment project to Minister Nixon.
At that time, council members decided against sending a letter of support as they felt there was a lack of deeper understanding regarding potential side effects of an Alum treatment.
Since the project was proposed, LICA has been waiting to receive more data and background research on the proposed pilot project from Algae Control Canada, which they still have not received.
“We wanted to have a list of more of their scientific data. We wanted to compile more of the management strategies, things that weren't actually shared publicly, because we can't make a stance or even say we are in support (of the treatment) until we actually see that data,” Morris emphasized.
“We don't have those technical experts in our organization, so we have to rely on the data that is provided to us in order to make those educated decisions.”
Morris also noted that there are a lot of misconceptions regarding who is spearheading the algae treatment.
"I find that it's very important to let everyone know that this is not a project we're leading,” she added. “I think that a lot of people just assumed that because we're an environmental stewardship organization that we had something to do with it.”
Like many others trying to form an opinion on the efficacy of Alum and other chemical treatments for chronic algae blooms, LICA continues to seek understanding and obtain more information.
