Boat Access on Wabamun Lake, 2017.

Over the last few years, the number of boats using Wabamun Lake has increased significantly. With only two established boat launches, there can be a lot of congestion at these sites on summer weekends, as well at numerous casual launch sites around the lake. The following message from WWMC Board Chair Stan Franklin describes the issue and what is being done about it:

Background:

• Prior to the CN oil spill in 2005, there were two established boat launch sites on the north shore (the Village of Wabamun, and the Provincial Park) and one on the south shore (Sundance Power Plant). The Sundance site was closed following the CN oil spill and has not been reopened.
• The only other established site on the lake was at Seba Beach but it was closed in 2015 because of a lack of parking space and poor shoreline conditions for a launch.
• There are also numerous shoreline locations on the lake that have been used by boaters to access the lake.
• In recent years there has been an increased demand on the lake for recreational boating due to the population increase in the region and also the deterioration of water quality in other regional lakes.
• The increased demand for recreational boating has presented significant challenges. First, the number of boaters seeking to launch on warm weekends has exceeded the capacity of the facilities at the Village of Wabamun and the Provincial Park. Second, the capacity issue at these two sites resulted in many boaters resorting to using other shoreline locations. This in turn resulted in conflict within the shoreline communities and damage to the shore and lakebed. Third, the use of multiple uncontrolled launch sites around the lake has increased the risk of the introduction of invasive species, such as quagga and zebra mussels.

Issues:

• The closure of the Sundance site has meant that there is no established launch site on the south shore of the Lake.
• As indicated in the 2013 Boat Launch study commissioned by Parkland County, the geography and development around the lake provides minimal opportunity for the establishment of an additional boat launch facility. This is particularly true of the south shore.
• Continued use of so called "informal" launch sites around the lake will have an adverse effect on the health of the lake and increase the risk of the introduction of invasive species.
• While using either of the two established boat launch sites may be seen by some boaters as inconvenient, the combined capacity at these two locations appears to be adequate for the lake except for the limited periods of peak demand on warm weekends.
• The reality is that in the long term, boat launching at Wabamun Lake will need to be limited to a small number of properly constructed and monitored sites. This and other recreation management issues will need to be looked at in a watershed recreation management review to be undertaken as part of the Wabamun Watershed Management Plan.
• Parkland County is presently studying the feasibility of developing a third boat launch site on the south shore of the lake.

Parkland County Boat Launch Implementation:

• Parkland County has taken a leadership role in attempting to address the current and longer-term impact of recreational boating on the lake, engaging the other municipalities around the lake, and TransAlta, Alberta Environment and Parks, and the WWMC.
• All of the parties recognized that it would be beneficial to have a proper boat launch site on the south shore of the lake if a suitable site could be found.
• Finding a suitable and available site on the south shore has proven to be difficult as anticipated in the 2013 Boat Launch study.
• Suffice it to say there is no potentially available site on the south shore that "called out" to be developed as a new boat launch.
• TransAlta owns the only potential site, a location east of the Sundance Meadows subdivision. It is located in an area of healthy and undisturbed shoreline and habitat. In addition to environmental considerations, water depth may also be a factor.
• As this is the only potential site on the south shore there is no "Plan B" boat launch. So Parkland County has decided to investigate the site further to determine if there is a realistic potential to develop the site in a manner that is functional, environmentally sensitive and approvable from a regulatory perspective. The viability of the project will be assessed as further studies and investigations are completed.
• Timely public input is an important component and toward this end Parkland County will be conducting two Open Houses in April. The first will be on April 18th at Jubilee Hall in the Village of Wabamun (6:30 - 8:00pm). The second will be on April 19th at the Seba Beach Heritage Pavilion (6:30 -8:00pm).

Stan Franklin
Wabamun Watershed Management Council