Elizabeth Lake takes another hit

At times, one must wonder how the powers work in the running of our fair city and where knowledge of the concept known as, 'cause and effect', might lay. 

Six months after one council is tossed out and blamed for poor decision making another debacle is in the making at Elizabeth Lake.

To add insult to injury, one year after Elizabeth Lake and the surrounding park and properties were flooded for an entire summer, after volunteers have repaired the paths and after the creek channel has been cleared of debris to enable it to flow freely once more, a decision is made to test city wells in the area and pump them of their water for several days allowing the water to flow unchecked down the paths of least resistance.

No matter that this could be a year in which we are short of water, no matter that the paths of least resistance just happen to be the same park’s newly volunteer repaired trails, no matter that there is no warning for tourists coming in from the visitor information booth or elsewhere, no matter that the newly cleared creek channel is now filled with milky white water and considerable sediment from the washed-out gullies, no matter that a home or business owner would need a special permit and mitigation for sediment catchment, the process went ahead anyway. 

Let’s hope those responsible for the lack of foresight set these things as right as they can and that this situation will not be reliant yet again on volunteers, or taxpayers to pay the cost and do the work.

Further, June 26, 2015

The pump out of well no 4 has ceased, the reason given is 'mechanical failure'.  It is not known if pumping would have continued had the new pump not failed. It is not known why the pump was not turned off as soon damage to land and creek became noticeable.  Apparently new pumps were installed and needed to be tested.  It is not understood why mitigation was not put in place before the process started because capacity of the pumps must have been known and it is reasonable to expect that the deep well would have sufficient water to test the pump.  It is not known when the new pumps were installed and whether they could have been tested before this time.  It is not known if other city wells are being tested in the same way.  The city has repaired the trails at Elizabeth Lake and filled the gullies caused by the water which flowed for several days.  A pipe has now been installed and a sediment catchment trap but is not known if the testing will resume.

Cranbrook Erosion and Sediment Control Bylaw 3692

https://cranbrook.civicweb.net/document/1388/3692,%202010%20Erosion%20and%20Sediment%20Control%20Bylaw.pdf?handle=F061BDAE8FF24130AB35C80883BB9D6C

mitigation now installed, visible sediment deposit bar in creek caused by several days of continuous flow