Ghost Lake residents fear property values falling along with water levels

Ghost Dam property owners and some boaters are concerned low water levels in the lake are threateningproperty values and the boating season.

• Ghost Dam changes could help prevent flooding, says city

The province has requested that thewater level in the reservoir bekept lowto protect Calgary from potentialflooding.

"Because those houses are built on the lake, the property value has gone because there is no lake anymore,"said Deputy Mayor Warren Wilson.

He estimates the values havedropped as much as 25 percent in the summer village, 18 km west of Cochraneon Highway 1A.

Ghost Lake reservoir has been a draw fora range ofwater sportsfor years because of its proximity to Calgaryand its size, 10 km long and 1.5 km wide. Theaverage depth in the lake is between18 and27 metres.

This year we'll survive but Icertainly can't do that for many more years.- Mike Weinert, owner of Ghost Lake Marina and campground.

Levels of the lake are controlled by Trans-Alta, operators of Ghost Dam.
By keeping water levels low, about 65 million cubic meters of storage are available for flood mitigation, Trans-Alta says.

"This year we'll survive but Icertainly can't do that for many more years,"said Mike Weinert, owner of Ghost Lake Marina and campground.

With the lake six metres below normal, there are only a few boats on the water, and they're stuck there until the province allows water levels to begin rising on July 7, he says.

"It could take two to three weeks to refill the lake, which means we won't be up to natural levels till the first of August."

The province has been tight-lipped about the long range plan for the recreation area, says deputy mayor Wilson.

"They just keep telling us it's an experimental thing, but we strongly believe that's what they're going to keep doing. they say they are going to work with us but so far they're not doing anything," he said.