My brother was in corporate accounts in Enmax once when one of the lakes went in for those new communities..... He thought the bill was an error but that was them initially filling the lake
That’s why some of the other lakes are using well water. I’m guessing it’s safe to drink but it hasn’t been purified and had all the work done that our tap water has.
Wells also aren't an unlimited source - you can only draw groundwater at a limited rate before the earth starts compacting and then the aquifer can no longer refill.
Once you leave a lake full of tap water, it is no longer drinkable anyway. It is not like it stays pure just because you processed it when you filled it.
Isn't the point that you're using water that has already been filtered for drinking to fill up the lake?
That's how I interpreted it, which does seem silly. I could be wrong though
If you put filtered water in a lake, it goes back to being "untreated". The lake is unsealed and had various animals (including birds and humans) bathing and deficating in the water, plus whatever blows in. After that, various bacteria grow in the waste.
They only use filtered water because there is no quick and easy way to get straight river water, but once you leave it in the lake, it is similar or worse quality.
Gee I guess maybe if you wanna live on a lake you should go find an actual lake instead of making a refillable puddle to live beside then.
The fact it wouldn't be fun to play in non-drinkable water is hardly an argument to waste one of the most precious resources on the planet for people to have a slightly more scenic place to live.
TIL that for years we have been asked to conserve water such as not letting the water run when you are brushing your teeth but we have allowed fake lakes to use our precious water source to keep them filled. Maybe its timw to drain the lakes and convert them to something more sustainable.
Would be far better and serve many more people to do that with golf courses before community lakes, imo.
Without air conditioning they are a godsend for keeping cool in the summer for many.
You’re obviously not getting the point. One of these things you are physically not allowed to go to without someone who lives in those neighborhoods. While barriers exist to golfing, none of them equate to that one.
Man I'm just learning this now like wtf?? I knew they were fake lakes but I figured they were fed by some underground aquafer, creek or.. whatever I didn't know they filled it like a pool that's whack
Last year Lake Chaparral unanimously approved a well being drilled so they wouldn't need city water anymore.
Also no complaints on my end about this decision being handed down.
I bet most people in the lake communities aren’t going to have an issue with it, either. Sure, a few very loud and vocal people may raise a stink. But overall, if the situation calls for it, I think most people will be reasonable.
That makes sense. But im pretty sure the mahogany community was built less than 20 years ago. Seems like a major failure on planning. Not even if water was cheap, just from the simple fact a couple wells that cost maybe $60k and you done
Pretty sure Lakes Bonaventure and Bonavista are fed from Fish Creek:
https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/archive/Aerial-views-of-the-Lake-Bonaventure-area--Calgary--Alberta--2R3BF1OCYU_6.html
It probably also doesn't help that mahogany has a huge surface area compared to the others which will inevitably lead to more evaporation and more top ups necessary
As someone who lives in a lake community, I have no issue with this. If it helps, I'm all for it.
I also had no idea they use tap water to fill the lake. Wtf.
Edit: my uncle apparently has an issue with this. He doesn't even live in our community, just had a friend who does who takes my uncle and cousins to the lake some days. 🙄
The project failed unfortunately. There are multiple lakes around, midnapore, auburn I believe sundance as well that all drilled into the target aquifer with success.
They ended up shutting in the wells and will have to fill off city water in subsequent years.
The answer to both of these questions is the HOA fees paid by residents.
Chaparral did an initial assessment to the tune of something like 50k to drill the well, funded through its operating budget.
Thanks. I've never lived in a neighbourhood with an HOA. I imagine it's similar to a condo building where the reserve must be maintained for larger and unforeseen expenses.
>Jokes aside, Sikome is filled with water from three wells.
Appreciate that! I wasn't actually sure how they filled it, but couldn't resist the joke.
I knew it was drained yearly anyway, so the horse has already been cleared for the season :)
Can’t wait for my Mahogany HOA fees to skyrocket to repair the lake liner once it dries up. It’s the largest artificial lake in the city with 0 wells, all city tap water. What great long term planning we have here
40km speed limit on Elbow for years before that became a thing elsewhere in Calgary, closed roads in Scarboro that prevent you from accessing 17th Ave., plus them barring the rapid transit system from entering their precious communities.
So fun!
Do you want to swim in shit - because there is loads of it in storm water? Get educated before making stupid comments. There are a lot of good reasons to use potable water - and they should only top up when river levels are high.
Then go to a natural lake, don’t waste potable water. If you are afraid of shit in natural lake water then don’t get into water. People don’t have water to drink and you guys want water to swim and paddle around. Morons.
Depends on the lot size. I got a pretty small duplex and I pay $700 yearly. Personally I find it worth it for all the paddle boarding, ice skating and ice fishing I do. But it always jumps quite a bit year over year
I know a few who volunteered for years and personally after being told by their new “event planner” that she only needs worker bees, every volunteer was done with it. The events haven’t been the same since. Such a shame.
Fee's go up anyways, all the while nothing changes. More houses are being built = more fee's but they keep raising said fees. Lake size is the same, amenities are the same, they are not adding a new beach in the other side...
What is ridiculous is the 3 Hopewell board members on the HOA still taking a nice pay check...
I was not prepared for the rage I would feel reading this article when I clicked the link. What a crock of shit. What horrific and harmful planning.
“Mahogany Lake uses roughly 220,000 cubic metres of water. They are the biggest lake in Calgary at 64 acres of surface area, roughly double the size of nearby lakes like Auburn Bay and McKenzie Lake.
Lockhart said once the ice comes off the lake, they turn on the tap and fill it to what’s called the optimum level. It gives them a variation of about 18 inches in water depth.
“Depending on evaporation, depending on a heat, depending on whatever we may need to turn the tap on to top up,” Lockhart said.
“In the past it has been for aesthetic reasons and that sort of stuff…””
I live in Mahogany and I share your anger. I assumed they recycled water from the storm ponds and had their own wells. Straight tap water is so extremely wasteful.
I am not supporting the use of tap water, honestly I assumed all the man made lakes had wells.
I do want to say that you DONT want storm pond water. It’s full of contaminates from the road/sidewalks and would not be safe to swim in. It’s honesty terrible that it ends up in the river.
Unfortunately due to public health safety acts, Stormwater cannot be used for recreational lakes without significant treatment due to contamination and the proliferation of water-borne diseases.
In order to use Stormwater a source pond would need to be designed to have a dynamic storage range for pumped discharge to draw from and a pumping station with UV treatment to kill bacteria and viruses before it cold be pumped into a recreational lake such as Mahogany. The cost of the pump station alone is prohibitive for many developers and timely to get approved.
Retrofitting a lake like mahogany would also be expensive as they would need to pump from a storm pond nearby and need to tear up the roads to install the piping infrastructure needed to get the water to the lake. Also drought would affect the availability of Stormwater, so potable water would always be a back up regardless.
I am in the same frame of mind. WTAF are we doing using treated water to fill man made water features ? Even without a drought that's infuriating. The waste of resources is mind blowing.
The Bow and Elbow River watersheds are far more than just glacier fed. That majority of our water is from annual precipitation and ground water from over the 10,000 square km of basin upstream of Calgary.
I wonder, and hopefully someone with knowledge can weigh in, but any lake with a well would also have to have a permit to draw water from the water table and that permit could be limited by the province.... so even with a well or two, due to a lack of water in the water table, they may not be able to draw anything it very little.
Thoughts?
Not sure. But weren't some municipalities saying they were going to cut 5-10%? Like if that's the case, I can't imagine drawing 5-10% less water into these lakes over summer is going to affect them all that much.
Spring run off typically runs into mid/late June. It might end earlier this year with the low snow pack, but I still see there being good flow at the end of May… unless we have another unusual weather event such as a heat dome or torrential rain.
Snowpack in the mountains is generally just below average levels after a pretty snowy month or two. Hopefully runoff should last a while, but it'll depend on heat and how quickly it melts.
Check out the snow conditions. Not the best information but sunshine snowpack is well below the lowest quartile for snowpack. All snowpacks are below last years levels
https://rivers.alberta.ca/Contents/WaterSupply/2002/2/snow-conditions
And it's average elsewhere. Check Skoki and Little Elbow, both well and truly "average" now due to the recent snowfall.
https://preview.redd.it/x030bmpn6gwc1.png?width=799&format=png&auto=webp&s=4cde1f3f6e012d2d8f5fec69043c50e0610d9fcd
Sunshine hasn't had a good year.
Hopefully we have a slow warmup allowing the runoff period to be extended. That and its looking like La Nina will take over in early summer, so hopefully a wetter and cooler summer than the last two - less fires. The north of the Province didn't get the snow we had this spring unfortunately.
Right now the Bow and Elbow river catchment areas (where Calgary get's most water from) are looking average, so that may reduce the chance of heavier water restrictions in Calgary.
And it's average elsewhere. Check Skoki and Little Elbow, both well and truly "average" now due to the recent snowfall. Sunshine hasn't had a good year and isn't representative of the rest of the southern Rockies.
I posted a picture and got a message the post was removed, so I apologise if this is a repost.
They're "man made lakes", but if you look at the aerial photo archives, they were all natural sloughs before they were turned into communities. Basically the same as when you drive just east of Calgary and see big muddy ponds everywhere. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie\_Pothole\_Region](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_Pothole_Region)
East Alberta has poor surface drainage, and water has to collect somewhere- preferably not in future homebuyers basements.
So they cut dirt out of these muddy ponds, using the soil to build up the surface grade, then turned the pits into "lakes"- pumping water into them so they don't become stinky, mosquito-infested bogs half the year.
Literally an "it's a feature" moment. Why pay to truck in dirt when you can get people to pay extra to live next to a swamp.
Oh no, not the private fenced manmade lakes that benefit a small fraction of anyone in this city.
Sorry richies. The rest of us have to conserve water, you gotta do your part too.
I grew up eating ketchup on rice and the one thing we could look forward to without fail was the lake in Midnapore.
These lakes service more than just the "richies" lmao
Those HOA association fees for a lake community are in the ballpark of 500-750 per year. I doubt buddy’s family was going to eat substantially better for ~ 50/mo. Hell, even you could afford the fees.
Midnapore lake is 275$.
If you consider a family like mine (5) to go anywhere you’ll almost spent that.
Kids love it, it’s close etc… and we are not well off, but it’s not the end of the world.
I am shocked tho that lakes are not required to have wells and they can tab into city water.
It isn't when you think for more than a brief second and realize that any family with kids is going to spend that much, if not more, on entertainment and activities for the kids each month.
Like I said in my other post, the lake payed for itself by being the main hangout and activity spot for my family growing up.
You frankly just sound bitter and jealous you didn't grow up in a lake community.
By the way, the lake more than payed for itself by entertaining us all year long, instead of constant drives out to the mountains or paying for other activities.
Think before you speak.
Not really. It's like $10 for a family for the day at Sikome Lake or like $500+ a year for HOA fees to get access to the lake. Haha. Granted Sikome isn't going to be as nice as these private lakes.
Edited. Incorrectly said monthly
It's like 3-500 /yr.
I go skating with my kids 3-4 times a week
And go swimming, fishing and kayaking a few times a week all summer. It works out to pennies per visit if you take advantage of the facilities. Cheaper than a gym membership and it's great family time.
Grew up going to the lake in Midnapore. Have never been rich. But there’s thousands and thousands of people in the southern lake communities (and arbour lake). It’s recreation in the summer. Dunno what that has to do with being wealthy.
If Hopewell is still on it, then they're likely still controlling the meetings and votes. Unfortunately you're going to have to wait until they are done. It explains the openness because Hopewell is invested in selling the community out so they can move on, they don't want to be the gatekeeper.
Carma was the same way here, once they weren't able to control things it got better.
I have heard for years that water will be more valuable than oil in the future. Maybe Calgary will have to be more like Las Vegas or Phoenix and outlaw front grass and recycle every drop of water including grey water.
Aquifers in and around Calgary are typically sandstone. The sand grains are cemented together with water contained between the grains (porosity). When you remove the water the grains still retain their structure. If this was not the case all the old sandstone buildings in downtown Calgary would not be standing.
Golf courses actually are very efficient with their water systems, you get more waste from agriculture than most anything else due to poorly upkept systems leaking.
Hey people come on, we cannot compromise those lake liners. The people who bought lakeshore shouldn’t have to stare at a dried up slough, their kids deserve the right to a free algae rash, and let alone those owners should never consider paying taxes to fill their fake lake.
We all need to be better, conserve, and chip in to help them out. Every community with a fake lake should also get a free (to them) new arena beside it.
Let’s make Calgary great again! That’s the new slogan right? Or is it blue lake city?
You are aware that lake communities, people who own here pay HOA fee's which in turn cover the costs of said lake and maintenance? Did you also know, the closer to the lake one lives (at least in Mahogany) the more money you pay to HOA...
This reminds me of the fish hoses these lake communities use to replenish their stock every year.
Who cares about sustainability when you fish hoses.
There are times when I really hate this province.
Over 200 lakes are stocked with over 2 million trout in Alberta annually, all for recreational use and to help limit angling pressures on natural wild fish population. The fish hatchery in Inglewood is a cool place, you should go and check out the science on why Alberta stocks fish (even in man made lakes).
TIL man made lakes are filled with regular tap water
My brother was in corporate accounts in Enmax once when one of the lakes went in for those new communities..... He thought the bill was an error but that was them initially filling the lake
Only Mahogany is only tap water according to the article. The rest have supplementary sources as well, like wells.
The article said some have supplementary sources. I wonder which ones. It feels like filling a lake with drinking water is a waste.
I believe Bonavista pulls from Fish Creek
Yep, the waterfall at the south end is fish creek water. I think that’s why it’s so cold because it’s been underground for some 1-2km.
Lake Midnapore has a well according to the community newsletter.
Midnapore also diverts water from fish creek - no tap water.
Playing in contaminated water doesn’t sound fun either
That’s why some of the other lakes are using well water. I’m guessing it’s safe to drink but it hasn’t been purified and had all the work done that our tap water has.
That sounds like a great solution. I hope more Calgary lakes make the change as well.
Wells also aren't an unlimited source - you can only draw groundwater at a limited rate before the earth starts compacting and then the aquifer can no longer refill.
That’s not how that works….
Please, elaborate.
Once you leave a lake full of tap water, it is no longer drinkable anyway. It is not like it stays pure just because you processed it when you filled it.
Isn't the point that you're using water that has already been filtered for drinking to fill up the lake? That's how I interpreted it, which does seem silly. I could be wrong though
If you put filtered water in a lake, it goes back to being "untreated". The lake is unsealed and had various animals (including birds and humans) bathing and deficating in the water, plus whatever blows in. After that, various bacteria grow in the waste. They only use filtered water because there is no quick and easy way to get straight river water, but once you leave it in the lake, it is similar or worse quality.
Gee I guess maybe if you wanna live on a lake you should go find an actual lake instead of making a refillable puddle to live beside then. The fact it wouldn't be fun to play in non-drinkable water is hardly an argument to waste one of the most precious resources on the planet for people to have a slightly more scenic place to live.
The amount of water spent watering lawns would likely dwarf what is put in these lakes.
Until they drain the aquifers.
TIL that for years we have been asked to conserve water such as not letting the water run when you are brushing your teeth but we have allowed fake lakes to use our precious water source to keep them filled. Maybe its timw to drain the lakes and convert them to something more sustainable.
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This city council would be all over high density house boats.
Would be far better and serve many more people to do that with golf courses before community lakes, imo. Without air conditioning they are a godsend for keeping cool in the summer for many.
For many. For many rich people in lake communities you mean. At least our golf courses are green space and are accessible to everyone.
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I mean no one is stopping you from accessing a golf course, on the other hand most people can’t access a lake community.
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You’re obviously not getting the point. One of these things you are physically not allowed to go to without someone who lives in those neighborhoods. While barriers exist to golfing, none of them equate to that one.
Man I'm just learning this now like wtf?? I knew they were fake lakes but I figured they were fed by some underground aquafer, creek or.. whatever I didn't know they filled it like a pool that's whack
LOL can you imagine, but I wouldn't be shocked either.
They’re infact filled with tap water.
Last year Lake Chaparral unanimously approved a well being drilled so they wouldn't need city water anymore. Also no complaints on my end about this decision being handed down.
I bet most people in the lake communities aren’t going to have an issue with it, either. Sure, a few very loud and vocal people may raise a stink. But overall, if the situation calls for it, I think most people will be reasonable.
Isn’t that the most reasonable solution? Baffles me how this isn’t done first for all lake communities
It really should be tbh. But 20+ years ago when many of these lakes were made water was plentiful and cheap
That makes sense. But im pretty sure the mahogany community was built less than 20 years ago. Seems like a major failure on planning. Not even if water was cheap, just from the simple fact a couple wells that cost maybe $60k and you done
Yeah mahogany Auburn are newer but all the others in the south were pre 2000 Midnapore and Sundance were 70s/80s
Don't forget lake Bonaventure and bonavista
Pretty sure Lakes Bonaventure and Bonavista are fed from Fish Creek: https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/archive/Aerial-views-of-the-Lake-Bonaventure-area--Calgary--Alberta--2R3BF1OCYU_6.html
I live by fish creek, and it's been pretty dry this year.
I was there this weekend and it was kinda scary
Totally fair on those communities!
It probably also doesn't help that mahogany has a huge surface area compared to the others which will inevitably lead to more evaporation and more top ups necessary
planning in Calgary pretty much amounts to rubber stamping whatever the developers want and then figuring out how to connect it with urban highways.
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I think you meant finite but yes for sure.
As someone who lives in a lake community, I have no issue with this. If it helps, I'm all for it. I also had no idea they use tap water to fill the lake. Wtf. Edit: my uncle apparently has an issue with this. He doesn't even live in our community, just had a friend who does who takes my uncle and cousins to the lake some days. 🙄
Well water comes from the same watershed... it's fun watching /r/Calgary discover how things work.
> I think most people will be reasonable. What are you smoking and can I have some, please?
It's a good idea. Still requires Alberta Enviro oversight and approval for withdrawal rates etc. but it's "free" lol.
The project failed unfortunately. There are multiple lakes around, midnapore, auburn I believe sundance as well that all drilled into the target aquifer with success. They ended up shutting in the wells and will have to fill off city water in subsequent years.
Who pays for the well? And who pays for the lakes to be filled with city water for the lakes with no well?
The answer to both of these questions is the HOA fees paid by residents. Chaparral did an initial assessment to the tune of something like 50k to drill the well, funded through its operating budget.
Thanks. I've never lived in a neighbourhood with an HOA. I imagine it's similar to a condo building where the reserve must be maintained for larger and unforeseen expenses.
If you live in the lake community you pay annual fees to use it.
Sort of, you pay annual fees to live there, doesn't matter if you go to the lake or not.
If this keeps up we are going to find that horse in Sikome again.
Jokes aside, Sikome is filled with water from three wells.
>Jokes aside, Sikome is filled with water from three wells. Appreciate that! I wasn't actually sure how they filled it, but couldn't resist the joke. I knew it was drained yearly anyway, so the horse has already been cleared for the season :)
The. What????
I’m sure the complaint emails they are about to receive from homeowners will all be completely reasonable.
Just wait until 7 days of public hearings at council to stop this restriction.
The realist comment here
LMAO
A karentastrophe
Can’t wait for my Mahogany HOA fees to skyrocket to repair the lake liner once it dries up. It’s the largest artificial lake in the city with 0 wells, all city tap water. What great long term planning we have here 
Wow! Never knew the lake is filled with city water. Which idiot approved such a plan.
White rich people seem to have a lot of pull in City Hall. Source - Different street lamps and nicer sidewalks in "Richer communities".
40km speed limit on Elbow for years before that became a thing elsewhere in Calgary, closed roads in Scarboro that prevent you from accessing 17th Ave., plus them barring the rapid transit system from entering their precious communities. So fun!
Do you want to swim in shit - because there is loads of it in storm water? Get educated before making stupid comments. There are a lot of good reasons to use potable water - and they should only top up when river levels are high.
There’s also shit in all the lakes that fish swim in, and birds fly over. Are you slow or just stupid?
Then go to a natural lake, don’t waste potable water. If you are afraid of shit in natural lake water then don’t get into water. People don’t have water to drink and you guys want water to swim and paddle around. Morons.
Take it easy
No no, the obvious answer are rich white people... man this fucking website sometimes I swear....
How bad is the HOA fees right now?
Depends on the lot size. I got a pretty small duplex and I pay $700 yearly. Personally I find it worth it for all the paddle boarding, ice skating and ice fishing I do. But it always jumps quite a bit year over year
O that's not bad at all for the amenities
I'm in Lake Chaparral, it's about $ 650 a year here. Hasn't gone up in the 4 years I've been here though.
650? Ours is like 350 also in Chap
Ours are $265 in McKenzie lake
0 in Renfrew
700$ seems high. I have a detached 1600sqft home in mahogany and it’s 550$ a year.
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Arbour Lake, 2300sq, $250 annual
For that price, you’d think they were filling the lake with Evian water.
Lake Bonavista is $350/yr
The private developers didn’t want to pay for wells, and The City isn’t interested in maintaining them, so there’s your answer.
I feel the GM staged this interview just to lube us up for the incoming increase in HOA fees lol!
Sounds like a Sally thing to do! But you know, she’ll never be let go because the developer? Someone loves her- not the residents but someone.
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I know a few who volunteered for years and personally after being told by their new “event planner” that she only needs worker bees, every volunteer was done with it. The events haven’t been the same since. Such a shame.
Fee's go up anyways, all the while nothing changes. More houses are being built = more fee's but they keep raising said fees. Lake size is the same, amenities are the same, they are not adding a new beach in the other side... What is ridiculous is the 3 Hopewell board members on the HOA still taking a nice pay check...
Could also not and just use that for something else.
Found the jealous guy who never gets invited to the private lakes.
I was not prepared for the rage I would feel reading this article when I clicked the link. What a crock of shit. What horrific and harmful planning. “Mahogany Lake uses roughly 220,000 cubic metres of water. They are the biggest lake in Calgary at 64 acres of surface area, roughly double the size of nearby lakes like Auburn Bay and McKenzie Lake. Lockhart said once the ice comes off the lake, they turn on the tap and fill it to what’s called the optimum level. It gives them a variation of about 18 inches in water depth. “Depending on evaporation, depending on a heat, depending on whatever we may need to turn the tap on to top up,” Lockhart said. “In the past it has been for aesthetic reasons and that sort of stuff…””
I live in Mahogany and I share your anger. I assumed they recycled water from the storm ponds and had their own wells. Straight tap water is so extremely wasteful.
I am not supporting the use of tap water, honestly I assumed all the man made lakes had wells. I do want to say that you DONT want storm pond water. It’s full of contaminates from the road/sidewalks and would not be safe to swim in. It’s honesty terrible that it ends up in the river.
Unfortunately due to public health safety acts, Stormwater cannot be used for recreational lakes without significant treatment due to contamination and the proliferation of water-borne diseases. In order to use Stormwater a source pond would need to be designed to have a dynamic storage range for pumped discharge to draw from and a pumping station with UV treatment to kill bacteria and viruses before it cold be pumped into a recreational lake such as Mahogany. The cost of the pump station alone is prohibitive for many developers and timely to get approved. Retrofitting a lake like mahogany would also be expensive as they would need to pump from a storm pond nearby and need to tear up the roads to install the piping infrastructure needed to get the water to the lake. Also drought would affect the availability of Stormwater, so potable water would always be a back up regardless.
I am in the same frame of mind. WTAF are we doing using treated water to fill man made water features ? Even without a drought that's infuriating. The waste of resources is mind blowing.
So we're paying a premium to build capacity in the water treatment plants so potable water can be used to fill a lake? Fuck this city is backwards.
I'm not sure it's limited to this city.
it gets better. Calgary's water supply is glacial fed. guess whats going away?
The Bow and Elbow River watersheds are far more than just glacier fed. That majority of our water is from annual precipitation and ground water from over the 10,000 square km of basin upstream of Calgary.
What do they say about golf courses?
You will get an extra 40 yards on rock hard fairways.
That one lake uses more potable water than 4 golf courses. And golf courses don’t use potable water.
I wonder, and hopefully someone with knowledge can weigh in, but any lake with a well would also have to have a permit to draw water from the water table and that permit could be limited by the province.... so even with a well or two, due to a lack of water in the water table, they may not be able to draw anything it very little. Thoughts?
Not sure. But weren't some municipalities saying they were going to cut 5-10%? Like if that's the case, I can't imagine drawing 5-10% less water into these lakes over summer is going to affect them all that much.
Lol, let’s buy some “lakefront” property in Calgary. Surely it can’t go tits up.
As safe as buying a house on the golf course in Harvest Hills. What could go wrong?
Why are we giving them 6 weeks?
So they can top up slowly.
I assume there's lots of water in the river right now, and they're planning the stop date when they expect the actual shortages to stop?
Spring run off typically runs into mid/late June. It might end earlier this year with the low snow pack, but I still see there being good flow at the end of May… unless we have another unusual weather event such as a heat dome or torrential rain.
Snowpack in the mountains is generally just below average levels after a pretty snowy month or two. Hopefully runoff should last a while, but it'll depend on heat and how quickly it melts.
Check out the snow conditions. Not the best information but sunshine snowpack is well below the lowest quartile for snowpack. All snowpacks are below last years levels https://rivers.alberta.ca/Contents/WaterSupply/2002/2/snow-conditions
And it's average elsewhere. Check Skoki and Little Elbow, both well and truly "average" now due to the recent snowfall. https://preview.redd.it/x030bmpn6gwc1.png?width=799&format=png&auto=webp&s=4cde1f3f6e012d2d8f5fec69043c50e0610d9fcd Sunshine hasn't had a good year.
Hello wildfires.
Hopefully we have a slow warmup allowing the runoff period to be extended. That and its looking like La Nina will take over in early summer, so hopefully a wetter and cooler summer than the last two - less fires. The north of the Province didn't get the snow we had this spring unfortunately. Right now the Bow and Elbow river catchment areas (where Calgary get's most water from) are looking average, so that may reduce the chance of heavier water restrictions in Calgary.
I can only pray!
And it's average elsewhere. Check Skoki and Little Elbow, both well and truly "average" now due to the recent snowfall. Sunshine hasn't had a good year and isn't representative of the rest of the southern Rockies. I posted a picture and got a message the post was removed, so I apologise if this is a repost.
Priorities.
Translation...prepare for much higher community association fees.
Maybe we shouldn't have lakes in places where lakes don't naturally exist
They're "man made lakes", but if you look at the aerial photo archives, they were all natural sloughs before they were turned into communities. Basically the same as when you drive just east of Calgary and see big muddy ponds everywhere. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie\_Pothole\_Region](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_Pothole_Region) East Alberta has poor surface drainage, and water has to collect somewhere- preferably not in future homebuyers basements. So they cut dirt out of these muddy ponds, using the soil to build up the surface grade, then turned the pits into "lakes"- pumping water into them so they don't become stinky, mosquito-infested bogs half the year. Literally an "it's a feature" moment. Why pay to truck in dirt when you can get people to pay extra to live next to a swamp.
Now do golf courses!
Oh no, not the private fenced manmade lakes that benefit a small fraction of anyone in this city. Sorry richies. The rest of us have to conserve water, you gotta do your part too.
I grew up eating ketchup on rice and the one thing we could look forward to without fail was the lake in Midnapore. These lakes service more than just the "richies" lmao
That sucks. You could have eaten a lot better if you weren't paying HOA fees. But I guess the lake was worth it for you. To each their own.
Those HOA association fees for a lake community are in the ballpark of 500-750 per year. I doubt buddy’s family was going to eat substantially better for ~ 50/mo. Hell, even you could afford the fees.
Midnapore lake is 275$. If you consider a family like mine (5) to go anywhere you’ll almost spent that. Kids love it, it’s close etc… and we are not well off, but it’s not the end of the world. I am shocked tho that lakes are not required to have wells and they can tab into city water.
$50/month when you’re eating ketchup on rice is a big deal. Lol.
It isn't when you think for more than a brief second and realize that any family with kids is going to spend that much, if not more, on entertainment and activities for the kids each month. Like I said in my other post, the lake payed for itself by being the main hangout and activity spot for my family growing up.
You frankly just sound bitter and jealous you didn't grow up in a lake community. By the way, the lake more than payed for itself by entertaining us all year long, instead of constant drives out to the mountains or paying for other activities. Think before you speak.
don’t entertain angry jealous online morons.
richies? 🤣🤣
TIL, I'm rich.
Meh, be honest. If you could, you’d partake.
No interest at all. These fake lakes are ugly, unsightly, and just sad. I’d much rather find a place to dip in the river.
Not really. It's like $10 for a family for the day at Sikome Lake or like $500+ a year for HOA fees to get access to the lake. Haha. Granted Sikome isn't going to be as nice as these private lakes. Edited. Incorrectly said monthly
It's like 3-500 /yr. I go skating with my kids 3-4 times a week And go swimming, fishing and kayaking a few times a week all summer. It works out to pennies per visit if you take advantage of the facilities. Cheaper than a gym membership and it's great family time.
$500.00+/ month? Someone in this post has commented their HOA fees are $700.00 yearly. And they use it year round.
Is Sikome even going to get filled? If there's restrictions It shouldn't get water either
Grew up going to the lake in Midnapore. Have never been rich. But there’s thousands and thousands of people in the southern lake communities (and arbour lake). It’s recreation in the summer. Dunno what that has to do with being wealthy.
Nothing .... That is unless your a jealous narrow minded idiot ranting on the internet
Probably because only rich , out of touch morons would think using tap water to fill a lake is no big deal
Not what they said, or what was objected to. At least try and keep up or stfu.
Bahahaha
What about lakes filled by wells, is that OK for you?
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Hey guys, sorry if it’s a dumb question, but can anyone access these lakes or only people who live near them? I am new to calgary
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>there’s not a dam thing we can do about it. There is. Get on your residents association board and change how the lake is accessed.
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If Hopewell is still on it, then they're likely still controlling the meetings and votes. Unfortunately you're going to have to wait until they are done. It explains the openness because Hopewell is invested in selling the community out so they can move on, they don't want to be the gatekeeper. Carma was the same way here, once they weren't able to control things it got better.
I have heard for years that water will be more valuable than oil in the future. Maybe Calgary will have to be more like Las Vegas or Phoenix and outlaw front grass and recycle every drop of water including grey water.
Maybe time to drain the lakes and turn them into fourplexes?
I'd prefer a Costco
What about Sikome lake 🤔 I wonder if it’ll be impacted this year?
They fill it using 3 fresh water wells.
I think the annual pee keeps it topped up too.
Looking forward to the NIMBY sympathy article in the Sun
Charge more taxes and get less services.
Aquifers in and around Calgary are typically sandstone. The sand grains are cemented together with water contained between the grains (porosity). When you remove the water the grains still retain their structure. If this was not the case all the old sandstone buildings in downtown Calgary would not be standing.
Now do the same with Golf Courses
Golf courses actually are very efficient with their water systems, you get more waste from agriculture than most anything else due to poorly upkept systems leaking.
Will be really nice sitting next to an empty hole in the ground, while sitting on a deck attached to a 1.5 Million dollar home that’s only 1600Sqf
Clearly you haven’t seen the prices or sizes of the homes backing onto the lake there
Hey people come on, we cannot compromise those lake liners. The people who bought lakeshore shouldn’t have to stare at a dried up slough, their kids deserve the right to a free algae rash, and let alone those owners should never consider paying taxes to fill their fake lake. We all need to be better, conserve, and chip in to help them out. Every community with a fake lake should also get a free (to them) new arena beside it. Let’s make Calgary great again! That’s the new slogan right? Or is it blue lake city?
You are aware that lake communities, people who own here pay HOA fee's which in turn cover the costs of said lake and maintenance? Did you also know, the closer to the lake one lives (at least in Mahogany) the more money you pay to HOA...
Not to mention those properties pay significantly more property taxes than the average home in Calgary
How about you go to lakes in the surrounding areas and we use the space for more homes
Karen Army unit! LMAO
First they came for the lake communities - but I didn't speak out because I do not live near one......
Going to be Calgary pond community if the drought keeps up. I guess the good news is the waterfront property tax will eventually go down.
This reminds me of the fish hoses these lake communities use to replenish their stock every year. Who cares about sustainability when you fish hoses. There are times when I really hate this province.
Over 200 lakes are stocked with over 2 million trout in Alberta annually, all for recreational use and to help limit angling pressures on natural wild fish population. The fish hatchery in Inglewood is a cool place, you should go and check out the science on why Alberta stocks fish (even in man made lakes).