Residents concerned about the future of creeks and lakes in the Cochrane area filled Dartique Hall, southwest of Madden, on June 12 as members of the Little Creeks and Rough Fescue Appreciation Society (LCARF) held an informative meeting.
The purpose of the event was to shed some light on LCARF and the work they are doing to monitor the water quality, and look further into the possibility of what fish species are or could be present in Horse Creek.
There were presentations from LCARF, Palliser Enivronmental - the group helping with the water monitoring - as well as the Alberta Riparian Habitat Management Society (Cows and Fish.)
LCARF member Sarah Leete said the society was created for a number of reasons, but monitoring the creek is one of the main motivations, and still remains a priority.
In 2007, a preliminary investigation on Horse Creek’s watershed health was conducted, but due to funding restrictions, the work came to a halt.
LCARF began monitoring the water quality back in April, and will continue to do so until October, so Leete said they decided it would be a good idea to inform the public about the program and stress how important it is to keep the creek healthy for the future.
“I’ve lived at the top of Horse Creek for 30 years,” Leete said. “When I moved here, it was just farm and ranch runoff, now it’s used by agricultural holdings and residential subdivisions.”
Leete said it’s important to keep an eye on the water quality because the watershed is a free and natural resource.
“A healthy watershed provides valuable goods and services,” she said. “It’s natural capital, and if it’s unhealthy, it costs us money.”
Leete explained the creek is being tested at four different locations. The PH level, the conductivity (amount of salt in the water), the amount of dissolved solids and oxygen and the temperature of the water are tested.
“On the whole, the quality of the water in the creek is currently within the Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines,” she said.
Leete said she hoped the meeting was informative.
“All you can do is try to inform and encourage people to take care of the creeks and the areas that surround them,” she said. “It’s up to people to take notice and make changes. You can’t coerce people, it has to come from them.”
Although the meeting was to inform area residents about the water monitoring program, Leete said that about half of the 25 people who attended were residents of Cochrane Lake, who are frustrated by a recent change in stormwater being pumped into the lake from the new Monterra subdivision.
“All we could tell those people is that LCARF isn’t for or against that change,” Leete said. “They came in with their hackles up, but we hope they went away informed about what we are doing.”
