Wabamun waters healthy but need protection, report says

Eight years after a train derailment spilled more than 700,000 litres of bunker oil into Wabamun Lake, a new report shows that the health of the lake remains good.

But the author of the report is warning Albertans not to get complacent in caring for the body of water.

"This has been our hardest battle, is the fact that people don't see a crisis, so they don't think we need to do anything," said Kelly Aldridge, chair of the Wabamun Watershed Management Council.

The group, which focused on the health of the lake, released a report that found the lake fared better than many others in the province.

But Aldridge says, as one of Alberta’s busiest lakes, residents will have to put in effort to make sure that it isn’t plagued with problems like blue-green algae that is seen in other lakes.

"You just need to look at all the other prairie lakes in Alberta and see … they've all gone downhill slowly until they reach a turning point," he said.

"Once you reach that turning point and you've got blue green algae you're stuck. It's almost impossible to get rid of it."

The council’s report lays out several recommendations to preserve the health of the lake. They include a ban on fishing for walleye in some areas of the lake, as well as trying to minimize fertilizer use on the lawns of cottages around the water.