Just 13 kilometres south of Lake Windermere, Columbia Lake is considered the headwaters of the Columbia River, the largest North American River to empty into the Pacific Ocean. Lake Windermere is a widening of the Columbia River which flows north from here another 270 kilometres or so before turning south to continue its journey south and west to the ocean.
Though the area has also become a winter sports mecca, the largest influx of tourists (primarily from the Calgary area) to the lake is in the summer, swelling the population of Invermere many times over. The largest park on the lake is Kinsmen Park & Beach in Invermere. As of 2012, in the winter the lake boasts the World's Longest Skating Trail, at over 30 kilometres in length. One of Canada's largest outdoor curling bonspiels is held on the lake each January. A great many annual events, including the Invermere Music Festival, Loop the Lake, Mountain Mosaic Festival of the Arts, Easter Egg Hunt at Kinsmen Park, Kinsmen Fishing Derby, CV Rockies Pond Hockey Championships, Invermere Bonspiel on the Lake, Snowflake Festival, Snow Golf Tournament and the Columbia Salmon Festival take place on or around the lake.
When a town is as heavily dependent on its tourist draw as is Invermere on Lake Windermere, it becomes quite understandable that all concerned would be very interested in the ongoing health of that resource. Hence annual health reports in one of the local newspapers, the Columbia Valley Pioneer. Read the full 2016 report on the 2015 data below.
Water quality report reveals Lake Windermere mostly healthy
Posted in News on February 26th, 2016 by Steve Hubrecht
The Lake Windermere Ambassadors have released the group’s annual water quality report and aquatic plant survey, which, generally speaking, show Lake Windermere to be in fairly decent shape, with one notable caveat.
“The lake did meet our objectives in 2015 for temperature, dissolved oxygen and turbidity this summer, meaning the water is relatively cool, clear and well-oxygenated,” said Ambassadors program co-ordinator Megan Peloso. “However, there was one testing parameter that the lake did exceed, which was an increased trend of phosphorus at ice-out last April.”
Phosphorus is a nutrient usually found in limited quantities in most natural lakes. However, in high quantities, it can, in some instances, lead to algae blooms, said Ms. Peloso.
“I don’t want to be an alarmist, but it (increasing phosphorus) is an ongoing trend worthy of attention. We should be vigilant in monitoring the levels of nutrients going into the lake. Changes in trophic status (which are associated with changes in nutrient levels) have happened to other recreational lakes and that can be hard to fix after the fact.”
According to Ms. Peloso, there are multiple ways phosphorus can enter lakes, including agricultural runoff, tree harvesting in the watershed that feeds the lake, septic leaching and storm runoff.
“The main reason Lake Windermere has traditionally accumulated low levels of nutrients is because it is basically a widening of the Columbia River and it consequently has a high flush rate, of 47 days, which means water drains right through the lake in less than two months,” she said. “This means the lake has the advantage of being really well-mixed and resilient.”
The water quality report also shows that the lake depth in 2015 was shallower than average depths in recent years, but was comparable with the average depths of 2006 through 2008.
“Most likely the mild climate conditions and having a lower snowpack and less flooding in 2015 than we saw in 2012 or 2013 was part of the reason,” said Ms. Peloso.
The report also examines levels of bacteria at Lake Windermere’s public beaches and found that in 2015 they did not exceed any of the recommended guidelines.
“The Kinsmen Beach location in particular, because it’s in an embayment, is one spot where there is more likelihood to accumulate bacteria, but in this case the test results show there wasn’t any reason to worry last year,” said Ms. Peloso.
The aquatic plant survey found no invasive plant or animal species in the lake, although it did turn up one unknown species of algae that experts were unable to identify.
To view the full report visit
Lake Ambassadors.
From the Columbia Valley Pioneer