Alberta Environment and Parks said the spring rain may have played a role in the clear water at Pigeon Lake this year, a lake that normally sees huge blooms of blue-green algae.
READ MORE: ‘I can’t stand it’: Pigeon Lake residents concerned about stench coming from water
“Possibly. Possibly also the fact there wasn’t much of a spring runoff, when the majority of nutrients flow in from snow melt,” Arin Macfarlane Dyer, an integrated resource planner with AEP, said.
“It also could be related to the temperatures. It was a bit cooler this summer.
Joelle Roy Flynn has lived in Mission Beach since 1980. She often spends the month of July at Ma-Me-O Beach and spent Tuesday on the beach with her family and friends.
“The lake has been absolutely beautiful. It’s very clear,” she said.
“I’ve been paddle boarding. It’s just beautiful. You can see the bottom, which is always a good thing.”
It was a very different story for Roy Flynn last year, when there were copious amounts of blue-green algae.
“It was pretty thick and soupy. I had come back in October and everything was stinky. You can’t go into the lake. You just watch it. But now the kids have been rafting, tubing, jumping and swimming – all the things that come with the lake.”
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MacFarlane Dyer said bacteria, like blue-green algae, grows when temperatures increase so it is likely there will be algae bloom – which she said is naturally occurring – at the lake later this summer.
But she said residents can do their part to help reduce algae growth.
“All the stewards of Pigeon Lake can be part of the solution for harmful algae blooms. It’s possible that cumulatively, so everyone taking multiple actions over time, can improve water quality,” she said.
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The Pigeon Lake Renewal League started last August and has been trying to mobilize residents to keep the water in Pigeon Lake clean.
“Citizen involvement – they’re sensitive to the dumping of sewer and other water. They’re sensitive to not using fertilizer. They’re beginning to create rain gardens. They’re beginning to eliminate lawns in favour of flora,” league secretary Ron Lajeunesse said.
“Each individual has a responsibility in terms of cleaning up this lake and it seems to be making a difference.”
The league has been involved with beach clean-up and supports the installation of a sewer system in the area of Pigeon Lake.
League chair Ian Rawlinson said the difference between this year and years past “is night and day.”
“The scene this year – the water is crystal clear. This time last year, it was already starting to turn brown,” he said.
“It’s not fixed. This will take a long time to fix. It will take a lot of intervention.”
Bonny Mieske, a member of the Pigeon Lake Watershed Association, said the organization has installed three water gardens around the lake to help with runoff.
“We know that runoff from cars and trucks and oil get into the lake.”
The association also encourages using rain barrels, reducing water use and trying to keep as many pollutants out of the lake as possible.
“It didn’t go green overnight. It’s not going to change overnight. We all have to work at it constantly.”
Ma-Me-O Beach Mayor Don Fleming said the transformation of the lake is “like the old days.”
“This summer is a good summer for the lake. One doesn’t want to jinx things by saying it – that the water is really, really good this year,” he said.
For a complete list of current blue green algae advisories, click on this link.
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