Wabamun Lake Subwatershed Land Use Plan Technical Report October 09, 2015 Wabamun Lake Subwatershed Land Use Plan Phase 1 Technical Report Prepared for: Parkland County Prepared by: Stantec Consulting Ltd. Project Number: 1161103580 October 9, 2015 WABAMUN LAKE SUBWATERSHED LAND USE PLAN PHASE 1 October 9, 2015 WABAMUN LAKE SUBWATERSHED LAND USE PLAN PHASE 1 October 9, 2015 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................. V ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................................................... VII UNITS AND CONVERSIONS ..................................................................................................... VII GLOSSARY ............................................................................................................................. VIII 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 REPORT ORGANIZATION................................................................................................... 5 2.0 DATA SOURCES AND METHODS ................................................................................... 6 2.1 STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT .......................................................................................... 6 2.2 FIRST NATION ENGAGEMENT ........................................................................................... 6 2.3 SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION ................................................................................................ 7 3.0 POLICIES AND REGULATIONS ....................................................................................... 7 3.1.1 Development Approvals and Management Jurisdiction ....................... 10 4.0 SUBWATERSHED OVERVIEW ........................................................................................ 16 4.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 16 4.2 HISTORY ............................................................................................................................ 18 4.3 ABORIGINAL HISTORY AND TRADITIONAL USE ............................................................. 20 4.4 LAND ................................................................................................................................. 23 4.4.1 Land Use ........................................................................................................ 23 4.4.2 Geology and Soils ......................................................................................... 47 4.5 WATER............................................................................................................................... 53 4.5.1 Surface Water Quantity ............................................................................... 53 4.5.2 Surface Water Quality .................................................................................. 64 4.5.3 Groundwater ................................................................................................. 72 4.6 BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES .......................................................................................... 82 4.6.1 Aquatic Environment ................................................................................... 82 4.6.2 Terrestrial Environment ................................................................................. 87 4.6.3 Environmentally Significant Areas ............................................................ 101 4.6.4 Invasive Species .......................................................................................... 104 4.7 AIR ................................................................................................................................... 105 4.7.1 Relevance to Land Use Planning ............................................................. 106 4.8 CLIMATE CHANGE ........................................................................................................ 106 4.8.1 Relevance to Land Use Planning ............................................................. 106 4.9 DEFINING HEALTH .......................................................................................................... 107 5.0 KEY ISSUES ..................................................................................................................111 5.1 POLICY ........................................................................................................................... 111 5.2 BIOPHYSICAL.................................................................................................................. 111 i WABAMUN LAKE SUBWATERSHED LAND USE PLAN PHASE 1 October 9, 2015 6.0 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................113 6.1 LITERATURE CITED .......................................................................................................... 113 6.2 PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS .................................................................................. 119 6.3 WEBSITES ......................................................................................................................... 119 LIST OF TABLES Table 3-1 Legislation and Regulations Relevant to WLSLUP ............................................ 7 Table 4-1 Wabamun Lake Subwatershed in Numbers ................................................... 16 Table 4-2 Key Historical Events in the Wabamun Lake Subwatershed ........................ 18 Table 4-3 Village of Wabamun and Summer Villages Population Estimate ............... 34 Table 4-4 Parkland County Population Estimate within the WLSLUP Area ................... 35 Table 4-5 Wabamun Lake Subwatershed 2013 Crop Inventory ................................... 45 Table 4-6 Estimated Inflow and Outflow Volumes for Wabamun Lake, 2004- 2013 ...................................................................................................................... 57 Table 4-7 Summary of Water Chemistry in Wabamun Lake .......................................... 64 Table 4-8 Modelled Future Land Use Scenarios for Wabamun Lake ........................... 69 Table 4-9 Groundwater Diversion Categories and Maximum Annual Diversion ........ 74 Table 4-10 Groundwater Well Use Categories and Maximum Annual Diversion Assumptions ......................................................................................................... 76 Table 4-11 Groundwater Well Use Categories and Maximum Annual Diversion Assumptions ......................................................................................................... 77 Table 4-12 Status of Sport Fish Species in Wabamun Lake .............................................. 85 Table 4-13 Land Cover in the Wabamun Lake Subwatershed ....................................... 89 Table 4-14 Wabamun Lake Riparian Health Assessment Results .................................... 92 Table 4-15 Wildlife Indicator Species for Common Habitat Types in the Watershed ......................................................................................................... 100 Table 4-16 Environmentally Significant Areas within the Subwatershed ...................... 102 Table 4-17 Invasive Species of Management Concern ................................................. 104 Table 4-18 Wabamun Lake Health Defined .................................................................... 108 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1-1 Wabamun Lake Subwatershed .......................................................................... 2 Figure 1-2 Wabamun Lake Subwatershed Land Use Plan (WLSLUP) Development Process .......................................................................................... 4 Figure 3-1 Cross Section of Bank Location is Relation to Adjacent Water ................... 11 Figure 3-2 Jurisdiction over Bed and Shore ....................................................................... 12 Figure 4-1 Wabamun Lake Tributaries ................................................................................ 17 Figure 4-2 Overall Land Use in the Wabamun Lake Subwatershed .............................. 24 Figure 4-3 Summer Village of Seba Beach Land Use ...................................................... 25 Figure 4-4 Summer Village of Point Alison Land Use ........................................................ 26 Figure 4-5 Summer Village of Kapasiwin Land Use .......................................................... 27 Figure 4-6 Summer Village of Betula Beach Land Use .................................................... 28 Figure 4-7 Summer Village of Lakeview Land Use ............................................................ 29 Figure 4-8 Village of Wabamun Land Use ......................................................................... 30 ii WABAMUN LAKE SUBWATERSHED LAND USE PLAN PHASE 1 October 9, 2015 Figure 4-9 Residential Development Municipalities and Subdivisions in the Wabamun Lake Subwatershed ........................................................................ 32 Figure 4-10 Recreational Development in the Wabamun Lake Subwatershed ............ 37 Figure 4-11 Highvale Mine Boundary and Pit Locations .................................................... 39 Figure 4-12 Industrial Development within the Subwatershed ......................................... 41 Figure