Ghost Reservoir water levels frustrate residents

It's designed to helpCalgary in the event of a flood, but low water on the Ghost Reservoir is having a negative effect on residents of the Village of Ghost Lake.

"My well is so low that my pump can't draw water out of it right now, and my neighbour's wells, three of the four houses have gone dry," said Andre Vryheid.

"We're hauling water from friend's places either in Calgary or Cochrane. The last few days I've been catching water out of my water spouts and I use that to flush the toilet."

• Ghost Lake residents fear property values falling along with water levels

The water in thereservoir has been dropped as part of an agreement between the province and TransAlta, which operates the dam. By keeping water levels low, the company said,about 65 million cubic meters of storage are available for flood mitigation.

Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development spokesperson Jason Penner said the reservoir could have reduced the amount of flood water in Calgaryby 37 per cent in 2013.

Residents of the village are complaining about the effect, not only on their wells, but their property values and the consequences for recreation.

"This year we'll survive but Icertainly can't do that for many more years,"said Mike Weinert, owner of Ghost Lake Marina and campground.

Balancing act

The deal between the province and TransAlta, which keeps water low until the end of July,expires this year.

Pennersaid there's no word yet on whether the agreement will be renewed, but did say,"I think there's a good chance we'll want to use it going forward as well."

He saidthe government is working on how to mitigate the effects on residents, but is just now figuring out the scope of the problem, including the location and depth of unregistered wells. He also pointed outthat flood mitigation and recreation might conflict.

"The recreational impacts, obviously that's one of those situations where it's kind of hard to avoid, because in order to have the storage available for flood mitigation, obviously you have to keep the reservoir low and of course that doesn't work for recreational use," he said.

Although it hasn't been the case in the past, Penner said the low water level is still within the licensed use, but he understands the frustration of those who have grown accustomed to a higher water level and the services and recreation that comes with it.

For Vryheid, that's little comfort.

"I would like to sell my house andof courseit's completely impossible to sell at this time," he said.