Washademoak Lake's murky water worries residents, mayor

Some people in Cambridge-Narrows, about 70 kilometres southeastof Fredericton,areconcerned about the quality of the water inWashademoakLake this summer, which they say is murkier than usual.

The province's Department of Environment and Local Government has collected samples to test forwater quality and try toidentify the problem.

RobenaWeatherley,head of theCanaan-WashademoakWatershed Association,says the water quality isthe worst she's seen in decades.

"We don't quite know what this is. There was agriculture ... and forestry ... a lot ofclear cutting in the watershed. So it's any of these things and all of them," Weatherley said.

How do we fix it? I have no idea.- Blair Cummings, mayor,Cambridge-Narrows

Last summer,the lake also had problems withblue-green algae,bacterial organismsalso known ascyanobacteria, whichcan produce toxins that can be harmful to human health and fatal to pets and livestock.

Blair Cummings, the mayor ofCambridge-Narrowssays the community is concerned.

Heattributesthe brown waterto sediment created by the heavy rains and floods last fall, which he said washed fill from surrounding properties into the lake.

Cummingssaidthe land wouldn't be as fragile if it weren't for developmentand the community needs to value its environment.

"Man has made the problem with clear cutting, and that type of environment, so how do we fix it? I have no idea," Cummings said.