A minor flood from an inlet creek in the Summer Village of South Baptiste has raised some questions about Baptiste Lake’s unusually high water levels.
Ed Tomaszyk, chief administrative officer for the Summer Village of South Baptiste, said that during the night of May 18, high water levels from an unnamed creek located near Baptiste Drive temporarily flooded the South Baptiste Lake Campsite and surrounding area.
Tomaszyk said the creek’s water levels were rising until approximately 11:30 p.m., when the levels peaked. They have since declined, but remain at higher than usual levels.
Ben Nagy, Baptiste Lake resident and owner of South Baptiste Lake Campsite, said the creek’s water levels rose approximately two feet and spilled over the banks.
“The creek absolute spilled over the bank and into the campground,” Nagy said.
Nagy said the brief flood did not cause any serious damage to his camper-trailers, as the creek’s water did not have as much mud or silt carried within the flood.
“It didn’t do any damage to the camper-trailers but it certainly cause damage to anything that’s low to the ground,” Nagy said. “They had to empty out their sheds and that.”
Tomaszyk speculates the flash flood was created after a beaver dam was compromised further upstream from the unnamed creek.
He added that he does not expect the creek’s water levels to rise in the near future, as long as the area does not receive any more heavy rainfall or increased moisture.
“Right now, it looks like the crisis is behind us,” he said.
Nagy, however, is concerned with the unusually high water levels Baptiste Lake is experiencing this spring, noting this year’s shore line has been reduced by approximately 20 feet.
“It effects the campers because it’s the uncertainty,” Nagy said. “What happens next time if the lake doesn’t get (to) drop down? That’s the questions that my campers have. They come from Edmonton to enjoy the long weekend, then it floods.”
“I’ve had this place for 20 years and I’ve never had this issue,” he added. “For 20 years, it was fine and everyone was good. Now it’s high. There has to be a reason that it’s high.”
Tomaszyk noted the water levels in Baptiste Lake have been very high during this spring, due to the heavy rains and late snowfalls in April.
Baptiste Lake experienced a similar issue in the fall as water levels increased. When the high water levels froze during the winter, the expanding ice created pressure along the shoreline causing damage to boathouses and lake front property in Summer Village of Sunset Beach.
Bob Lindsay, a resident of Sunset Beach believes the high water levels were a result of beaver dams occupying Baptiste Creek, which is the lake’s only outlet compared to its 13 inlets. He believes because of these dams the water can not exit into the Athabasca River fast enough causing it to back up.
“It’s caused a lot of damage around the lake. The water is way too high. A lot of water came in, but that creek should drain that water out,” Lindsay said. “We’ve had a lot of rain a lot of years, and this didn’t happen.”
Robert Holmberg, a retired biology professor at Athabasca University, believes the cause of the lakes increased water levels is the increased moisture the area received in the late fall and early spring.
Holmberg said Baptiste Lake’s elevation level is approximately 200 feet higher than the Athabasca River, noting water would flow over or around the dams.
He noted a beaver dam could cause a back up if it was located near the start of the creek. However, the closest beaver dam is located past the bridge connecting Highway 2.
“If it’s not lake level then it’s not holding back the lake, because water seeks its own level,” he said. “It would slow down the flow, but only momentarily because the water will go over the dam if it’s higher than the dam.”
Tomaszyk said he also believes the high waters are not a result of beaver dams along Baptiste, noting they saw no beaver dams obstructing the Baptiste Creek’s flow during the winter.
“We walked the creek this spring when the water level in the lake was fairly high looking for any beaver dams that should be (removed),” he said. “The water level was high enough that we didn’t see any dams in the area what so ever.”
“The bottom line is with 13 inlets and you have a lot of moisture in the watershed area, the amount of water coming into the lake is going to exceed the amount running out of the lake.”
He added this is not the first time the lake has experienced high water levels, with the most recent case occurring approximately 20 years ago.
“The past 20 years have been good to us, to the degree where we haven’t really had high moisture levels in the summer,” he said. “That cycle may be changing.”
