‘No funding’ to protect the health of Nova Scotia lakes: MLA

When Sherrie Bushen first bought her lot on Albro Lake Road, she was excited to have a home she could retire in right on a lake.

But the first spring in her new place, she was in for a surprise.

“All of a sudden these lovely little yellow flowers were starting to rise,” she said.

That flower is floating yellow heart. Native to Eurasia, the invasive species was unintentionally introduced to Little Albro Lake in Dartmouth in 2006. The plant now covers a large part of the lake.

READ MORE: Pilot project aims to rid Little Albro Lake of potentially damaging invasive plant

Bushen says she is no longer able to kayak in the lake, but her bigger concern is the safety of her 18-month-old schnoodle Emma.

“She was in swimming and got caught in the weeds and I had to jump in and actually save her from drowning amongst the weeds,” said Bushen.

MLA for Dartmouth North Susan Leblanc says concerns about this plant were one of the first issues brought to her attention when she was elected as MLA.

“An overgrowth of weeds can cause the lake to become anoxic, so the weeds use up all the oxygen, which means the fish die, which means the wildlife is leaving the lake if there’s no fish and that affects the rest of the ecosystem,” said Leblanc.

The residents association in the area have worked on their own to get rid of the weeds but came to Leblanc looking for help to expand their efforts.

The idea was to get more groups involved, host big clean up days in the lake and invite students and other community groups to help. But in order to host such an event, they would need liability insurance.

“They wanted the province to come forward to pay for the insurance,” said Leblanc.

“There was no funding. No place to go for that type of money. I asked the minister of environment, I asked the minister of lands and forestry, and they just came up with nothing.”

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Leblanc says it’s a roadblock she’s hit multiple times when trying to address other health issues for lakes.

“There’s no funding or program funding to address these kinds of issues,” said Leblanc.

Leblanc says part of the reason that’s happening is that when it comes to lakes the issue of jurisdiction is a challenge.

“Different levels of government are passing the buck onto each other,” said Leblanc.

“Technically the province is in charge of lakes, whether they’re urban lakes or not urban lakes; the city is sort of in charge of recreation and then the federal government is in charge of fish.”

On Thursday, Leblanc and MLA for Dartmouth South Claudia Chender held a community meeting to discuss the health of lakes. About 150 people attended. Among suggestions made at the meeting was having a committee created to deal with lakes. Leblanc said she will be taking that suggestion and others to the environment minister to see what can be done.

WATCH (July 30, 2019): Urban chickens, invasive plants discussed at Halifax Regional Council

1:58 Urban chickens, invasive plants discussed at Halifax Regional Council

“We’re going to keep working on it until we get somewhere,” she said.

“Lakes are profoundly important. They’re a profound part of our environment.”

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Help could be on its way, at least for Little Albro Lake. In July, regional council voted in favour of moving forward with a pilot project to install benthic mats in the lake. The mats cover the roots of the weeds at the bottom of the lake, preventing them from getting sun, ultimately killing them. The cost is estimated at $25,000 and while regional council signed off on the project they will still need regulatory approval from both the provincial and federal governments before going ahead.

In the meantime Bushen has taken it upon herself to clear out the weeds near her property, creating a pool for Emma, but it’s no easy task. Bushen says she spends about two hours everyday working to keep the area clear.

“If you don’t get the root of the weed it’ll be back in a couple weeks,” said Bushen.

“It’s a really tiresome job.”