Mayatan Lake State of the Watershed Report
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Mayatan Lake State of the Watershed Report August 2012 Mayatan Lake State of the Watershed Report North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance 9504‐49 Street Edmonton, AB T6B 2M9 Tel: (780) 442‐6363 Fax: (780) 495‐0610 Email: [email protected] http://www.nswa.ab.ca The North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance (NSWA) is a non‐profit society whose purpose is to protect and improve water quality and ecosystem functioning in the North Saskatchewan River watershed in Alberta. The organization is guided by a Board of Directors composed of member organizations from within the watershed. It is the designated Watershed Planning and Advisory Council (WPAC) for the North Saskatchewan River under the Government of Alberta’s Water for Life Strategy. This report was prepared by Melissa Logan, P.Biol., Billie Milholland, B.A., and David Trew, P.Biol., of the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance. Suggested Citation: North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance (NSWA). 2012. Mayatan Lake State of the Watershed Report. Prepared by the NSWA, Edmonton, AB., for the Mayatan Lake Management Association, Carvel, AB. Available on the internet at http://www.nswa.ab.ca/resources/nswa_publications 1 Mayatan Lake State of the Watershed Report Acknowledgements The NSWA gratefully acknowledges the contribution of the following persons towards the completion of this report: Yaw Okyere and Janet Yan of Alberta Environment for conducting a search of water allocations within the basin; Terry Chamuluk of Alberta Environment for providing Morton monthly evaporation estimates for Alberta; Ron Woodvine of AAFC for providing precipitation and evaporation tables and maps for the Canadian Prairies; Rick Rickwood and Candace Vanin of AAFC for providing maps and delineating the gross and effective areas of Mayatan Lake; Graham Watt for preparing maps; and Sal Figliuzzi for completion of the water balance for the lake. 2 Mayatan Lake State of the Watershed Report 1.0 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to summarize all available environmental information for Mayatan Lake and its surrounding watershed. This report also provides a benchmark against which future stewardship activities and best management practices aimed at maintaining and improving watershed health can be assessed. The information will provide landowners, stakeholders, Parkland County and the Mayatan Lake Management Association (MLMA) with the information needed to support sound management decisions and develop solutions to protect or enhance land and water resources in the watershed. It also serves as a localized component and example of NSWA’s larger basin planning initiative, the Integrated Watershed Management Plan for the North Saskatchewan River Basin. Mayatan Lake is located approximately 68 km west of the City of Edmonton in Parkland County. It is a small, secluded lake located west of Range Road 25 on Township Road 522 (53°29'9.00"N 114°17'55.61"W). It is a part of the larger Modeste Creek watershed, which is a sub‐watershed of the North Saskatchewan River (NSWA, 2005). The lake is located in the Dry Mixedwood Sub‐region of the province, which is characterized by hummocky terrain underlain by glacial till (NSC, 2006). Mayatan Lake is largely undeveloped compared to other recreational lakes within central Alberta. The land around the lake is a mix of forested and agricultural lands, and there is one development on the north side of the lake. It is a part of a larger complex of lakes and wetlands in an area known as the “Jackfish and Johnny’s Lakes Area (L31)” (Westworth, 2004). Wetlands are important features on the landscape, providing water and carbon storage, groundwater recharge, wildlife and waterfowl habitat, and removal of excess nutrients and contaminants from surface water (Mitsch and Gosselink, 2000). Wetlands and wetland complexes have been greatly impacted by agricultural activities within Alberta, with many wetlands in the Central region of Alberta have been drained for agricultural production (Wray and Bayley, 2006). The area around Mayatan Lake has been identified as a locally Environmentally Significant Area (ESA) by Parkland County in its municipal planning documents. As seen in the County surveys, residents in the County are fully supportive of the protection of Environmentally Significant Areas, while allowing for judicious recreational use (Parkland County, 2006). Historic water quality data (from 1983) indicate that the lake was in relatively good condition at that time, with total phosphorus and chlorophyll a levels within the mesotrophic (or moderately productive) range. New data, being collected in summer 2011, will provide a good database for comparison against the earlier data. The lake is in a groundwater recharge area, which means water generally infiltrates from the landscape down into the underlying aquifers. There are considerable numbers and varieties of birds and waterfowl in the area, but little is known about specific habitat and breeding areas, or mammal populations within the watershed. Future recommendations for Mayatan Lake include regular monitoring of lake water quality, continuation of stewardship activities around the lake, as well as promotion of shoreline management best management practices. In future, the Mayatan Lake Management Association should consider completion of a Watershed Management Plan for the lake, which would be developed in consultation with all residents and stakeholders in the watershed, and which would ideally align with the goals and directions of the larger Integrated Watershed Management Plan for the North Saskatchewan River Basin. 3 Mayatan Lake State of the Watershed Report Acknowledgements............................................................................................................2 1.0 Executive Summary ......................................................................................................3 2.0 Introduction..................................................................................................................6 Purpose of Report...............................................................................................................................6 Scope of Report ..................................................................................................................................6 3.0 Public Perception and Concerns....................................................................................6 2009 Municipal Census.......................................................................................................................6 2006 Issues and Policy Implications Discussion Paper – Parkland County.......................................10 4.0 Existing Planning Documents ......................................................................................10 1981 Jackfish Mayatan Area Structure Plan.....................................................................................10 2004 Parkland County Environmental Conservation Plan................................................................11 2006 Municipal Development Plan Environmental Scan .................................................................14 2006 Municipal Development Plan Growth Study ...........................................................................14 Municipal Development Plan 2007 – Parkland County....................................................................15 Land Use Bylaw Consolidation 2009.................................................................................................17 Draft Recreation, Parks and Open Space Master Plan 2009 ............................................................17 Capital Region Growth Plan 2009.....................................................................................................18 Municipal Development Plan 2010 ..................................................................................................18 2011 North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance Discussion Paper for the Development of an Integrated Watershed Management Plan........................................................................................19 5.0 Provincial and Federal Legislation...............................................................................20 6.0 Social/Cultural Resources ...........................................................................................22 History of Area..................................................................................................................................22 7.0 Watershed Characteristics ..........................................................................................23 General Description..........................................................................................................................23 Climate..............................................................................................................................................28 Geography, Soils and Topography....................................................................................................30 Land Cover........................................................................................................................................30 Land Use ...........................................................................................................................................35 Wildlife..............................................................................................................................................40 Groundwater Resources...................................................................................................................42