Cold Lake Health Assessment FINAL
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Cold Lake Health Assessment A study under the Regional Waterline Strategy and Governance Model Development Project Prepared for: Town of Bonnyville, City of Cold Lake, and Municipal District of Bonnyville Prepared by: Stantec Consulting Ltd. Project No.: 113929476 FINAL April 7, 2017 Sign-off Sheet This document entitled Cold Lake Health Assessment was prepared by Stantec Consulting Ltd. This document entitled Cold Lake Health Assessment was prepared by Stantec Consulting Ltd. (“Stantec”) for the account of the Partnership (the “Client”). Any reliance on this document by any third party is strictly prohibited. The material in it reflects Stantec’s professional judgment in light of the scope, schedule and other limitations stated in the document and in the contract between Stantec and the Client. The opinions in the document are based on conditions and information existing at the time the document was published and do not take into account any subsequent changes. In preparing the document, Stantec did not verify information supplied to it by others. Any use which a third party makes of this document is the responsibility of such third party. Such third party agrees that Stantec shall not be responsible for costs or damages of any kind, if any, suffered by it or any other third party as a result of decisions made or actions taken based on this document. Prepared by L. Karoliina Munter, M.Sc., P.Biol. Co-authors: Seifu Guangul, Ph.D., P.Eng, D.WRE Nick De Carlo, B.Sc., P.Biol., QWSP Stuart Morrison, Dip. B.Sc. Greg Schatz, M.Sc., P.Biol Reviewed by John Orwin, Ph.D., P.Geo. COLD LAKE HEALTH ASSESSMENT Executive Summary The Town of Bonnyville, the City of Cold Lake licence is for operating a government- and the Municipal District of Bonnyville (the owned fish hatchery adjacent to Cold Lake. Partnership) are evaluating options for using Cold Lake as a long-term and sustainable The highest projected future water need for regional drinking water source for the regional water line is 5,840 dam3/year communities in the region. The currently (2032 projection based on estimated operating Cold Lake Regional Utility Services population growth). The current CLRUSC Commission (CLRUSC) provides water to the water licence is for 6,000 acre-feet annually City of Cold Lake, 4 Wing Cold Lake, Cold or 7,400 dam3/year. Lake First Nations, and the Hamlets of Ardmore and Fort Kent. The effects of potential future water withdrawals from Cold Lake for a regional The objective of this study is to evaluate the water supply by CLURSC were evaluated effects of further water withdrawals on the utilizing three scenarios: baseline (2005 to water level of Cold Lake and evaluate the 2015), Scenario 1 (2012 projected estimate effects of changes in water level on lake for the regional water line was applied to health. The study is intended to support the years 2005 to 2015), Scenario 2 (2032 Partnership in evaluating regional water projected estimate for the regional water supply options. line was applied to years 2005 to 2015). Under both scenarios the water level was Cold Lake is one of Alberta’s deepest and simulated to change by very small amount: largest lakes, and the lake spans across the maximum modelled water level change Alberta-Saskatchewan border. A Cold Lake was 4 mm and 8 mm for scenarios 1 and 2, water balance was evaluated to gain an respectively. These results indicate that understanding of the current status of the regional water line withdrawals would have lake water storage. For surface water insignificant effect on Cold Lake water level. withdrawals, data on water withdrawals for five Alberta water withdrawal Water Act Changes in lake levels from further water licences were available. One of the five, withdrawals are not expected to Municipal District of Bonnyville No. 87 is a measurably affect aquatic biota, wetlands, small licence for water use for dust riparian vegetation or wildlife due to the suppression. Canadian Natural Resources small predicted changes in lake water Limited and Imperial Oil Resources Limited levels, 4-8 mm. This change is within the water licences are used for industrial range of variability observed from 1954 to operations, and the CLRUSC water licence is 2015, 1.574 m, and small in comparison to currently used to provide water for the City average yearly fluctuations of lake water of Cold Lake, 4 Wing Cold Lake, Cold Lake levels, about 20 to 40 cm. First Nations, and the Hamlets of Ardmore and Fort Kent. The Cold Lake fish hatchery i COLD LAKE HEALTH ASSESSMENT Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................... I ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................................... IV 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 STUDY AREA ....................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 LAKE WATER BALANCE .................................................................................................. 4 2.1 METHODS ........................................................................................................................... 5 2.1.1 Water Level and Climate Data .................................................................... 5 2.1.2 Evaporation Data ........................................................................................... 5 2.1.3 Groundwater Inflow Data ............................................................................. 7 2.1.4 Stage-Storage, Stage-Area and Stage-Outflow Relationships ................ 8 2.1.5 Water Withdrawals ......................................................................................... 9 2.2 COLD LAKE WATER LEVEL 1954 TO 2015 ...................................................................... 15 2.3 LAKE WATER BALANCE 1974 TO 2015 ........................................................................... 18 2.4 WATER BALANCE SCENARIOS WITH INCREASED CLRUSC WATER WITHDRAWAL................................................................................................................... 21 2.4.1 Results ............................................................................................................. 24 2.5 CLIMATE CHANGE .......................................................................................................... 24 3.0 LAKE HEALTH ............................................................................................................... 27 3.1 METHODS ......................................................................................................................... 27 3.1.1 Definition of Health ....................................................................................... 27 3.1.2 Literature Review .......................................................................................... 27 3.2 AQUATIC BIOTA ............................................................................................................... 27 3.3 VEGETATION, WETLANDS AND RIPARIAN AREAS ........................................................ 28 3.4 WILDLIFE ........................................................................................................................... 32 3.5 EFFECT OF PREDICTED WATER LEVEL CHANGES ON LAKE HEALTH ........................... 33 4.0 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 34 LIST OF TABLES Table 1-1 Cold Lake Characteristics ............................................................................. 1 Table 2-1 Evaporation Coefficients ............................................................................... 6 Table 2-2 Existing Surface Water Allocations from Cold Lake ................................... 9 Table 2-3 Reported Consumptive Cold Lake Water Use from 2005 to 2016 ......... 11 Table 2-4 Average Daily Water Demand Projections .............................................. 13 Table 2-5 Summary of Projected Drinking Water Consumption ............................. 15 Table 2-6 Water Balance Components of Cold Lake from 1974 to 2015 .............. 18 Table 2-7 Predicted Flow at Cold Lake Outlet and Percent Share of Apportionment for Scenarios 1 and 2 ....................................................... 26 Table 3-1 Fish Species Documented within Cold Lake ............................................ 29 ii COLD LAKE HEALTH ASSESSMENT LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1-1 Municipal District of Bonnyville and the Cold Lake Subwatershed ......... 2 Figure 1-2 Cold Lake Bathymetry ................................................................................... 3 Figure 2-1 Comparison of Evaporation Data from ESRD (2009) and Data Calculated by Stantec from 2000 to 2009 .................................................. 7 Figure 2-2 Comparison Between Observed and Estimated Cold Lake Outflow from 1993 to 2015 ............................................................................ 8 Figure 2-3 Reported Annual Cold Lake Consumptive Water Use from 2005 to 2016 ............................................................................................................ 12 Figure 2-4 Cold Lake Water Level Measured at Water Survey of Canada Station 06AF002 from 1954 to 2017 ............................................................. 16 Figure 2-5 Apportionable Flows