‘A real danger’: Ghost Lake residents upset over low reservoir levels

Vacationers along Ghost Lake say the reservoir is almost unusable, with docks and boats bottoming out, thanks to poor water management.

Albertans summering in the village of Ghost Lake claim poor reservoir management is ruining their seasonal getaway.

The Ghost Reservoir is below its yearly average water level.

It’s a decision that has left those with properties upstream of the TransAlta hydro plant with limited lake to swim and boat in.

“This time last year, we probably had close to a metre more water than we do right now, which functionally makes a huge difference,” Mayor John Walsh said.

The province has an agreement to set elevations on the Ghost Reservoir from May 16 to July 7, a period that typically carries the highest storm risk.

But when TransAlta took back control in early July, the annual water level rise only lasted a couple of days.

Residents say it was just high enough long enough to dock and put their boats in.

“In the last few days, people have now scrambled to get their boats out of the water,” Walsh said.

“If you look around the village, you’ll see a lot of rock, a lot of points that are exposed and you’ll see that most of the docks are empty.”

The village marina is in various stages of chaos.

Some docks sit half on the shore. Others have dropped into the water but scrape against shallow rocks.

And the boats are in even worse shape.

“I hit a gravel bar and destroyed my prop,” resident Warren Wilson said.

“The water (there) was only two feet deep. Normally, this time of the year, it would be four.”

He calls it a “real danger” for any members of the public who aren’t as familiar with the reservoir’s ins and outs.

Warren, a 19-year Ghost Lake vacationer, says he’s never seen anything like it.

“We do understand that flood mitigation is important, but they’re not operating the dam like they used to, like they have for the past 80 years,” he said.

“Right now, I don’t believe there’s any flood hazard. There’s no snowpack or anything on the mountains coming down.

“There’s no reason for it to be this low.”

Warren is one of multiple boaters who have reached out to TransAlta for answers.

He claims the company promised the level will return to normal at the end of July and pointed out the low elevation is still within its operating parameters.

Warren says the company wouldn’t elaborate as to what’s currently happening.

“It’s a very short season here in Alberta as is, so to not have a lake for a whole month is very frustrating,” he said.

“This is a reservoir managed by TransAlta, and its primary purpose is to generate power,” Walsh said.

“That’s a business model, and we respect that. The thing that we’re having trouble coming to grips with is the lack of transparency around the decisions that have been made.”

TransAlta denied a CTV News interview request.

In a statement, its media relations team said it “began refilling to return to targeted elevation levels but had to pause to accommodate the recent precipitation.”

It said the company is “monitoring conditions closely and will continue to refill the reservoir gradually over the coming days.”