A recent poll suggests most Portage la Prairie residents want Crescent Lake to remain clean and visually appealing, but not at the cost of its ecosystem or a spike in taxes.
The online poll asked: “What would you do if you were in charge of the future of Crescent Lake?”
As of June 30, the majority of respondents, 57.29%, say the city should keep the lake “as sightly as possible,” while keeping expenses and aquatic life in mind.
Another 29.16% say they would “spare no expense to clean it up for swimming,” even if it meant higher taxes and the loss of fish species.
Meanwhile, 13.55% say they would leave the lake alone, allowing nature to take its course to save money.
Background on weed and water concerns
The poll comes amid growing concern about weed overgrowth along Crescent Lake this summer.
City of Portage la Prairie Director of Operations Jocelyn Lequier-Jobin says the herbicide previously used to control aquatic vegetation, is no longer permitted under environmental rules.
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“In the past, we had always used Reward herbicide for controlling weed growth in the lake,” says Lequier-Jobin. “Last year, we were told that we were not able to use it anymore, that it could potentially cause harm to fish was the reason.”
Following the reclassification of Crescent Lake as a fish habitat, the city launched a study and found small fish such as sticklebacks and minnows are abundant.
“We were not sure what the level of fish was in the lake, so we actually did a study and we found that the fish were plentiful,” she continues.
City working on alternatives
With herbicide no longer an option, the city is now seeking approval from provincial and federal regulators to use mechanical weed harvesting instead.
“We have been working with the province and DFO to get approval to do weed harvesting with the machine that would go in and cut the weeds,” notes Lequier-Jobin. “We have not received that yet."
If approved, harvesting would take place between mid-June and mid-September, outside fish spawning seasons. Lequier-Jobin says public feedback so far has been mostly supportive.
“We have heard from some people. I wouldn't say we've had a lot of complaints,” she says. “In general, people are understanding of what we're having to deal with right now.”
The city plans to continue updating residents as more decisions are made regarding Crescent Lake’s future.
- with files from Ryan Simpson
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