Repairing or constructing roads located near water can be a tricky business because of regulations aimed at protecting the environment. Leo deMoissac, public works superintendent for the County of St. Paul, described to councillors a number of environmental protection measures undertaken during a recent construction project near Stoney Lake, during a County of St. Paul public works meeting on Aug. 23.
The water from the waves on Stoney Lake was eroding the bank supporting the road, which leads to the Stoney Lake rodeo grounds. The bank needed to be re-built and lined with rocks to prevent the waves from causing further damage. A number of fish inhabit the shoreline and government regulations do not permit killing of fish to construct or repair roads.
“This project requires approval from various federal and provincial regulatory agencies,” said Ray Makowecki, principal of EnviroMak Inc., the environmental management consultants for the project. The County of St. Paul has taken an active interest in the projects, said Makowecki, explaining how deMoissac made several trips out to the site to make sure regulations were being followed.
Before the construction could begin, a “silt curtain” needed to be installed in the lake parallel to the shoreline to keep the dirt from getting into the lake, said Michael Farlinger, owner of Farlinger and Associates Ltd., the company constructing the road.
The fish trapped between the shore and the curtain must be removed and placed in a safer part of the lake, said Makowecki. Electricity is used to stun the fish before they are caught using a technique called electro-fishing. The fish can be safely scooped out and transferred.
“When we take the fish out, that is called an isolation,” said Makowecki. “We count them, measure them and then release them back into the lake.”
During the first 50-meter section of road, approximately 700 fish were moved but during the second section only about 100 fish were caught. The difference is possibly because increased activity in the area chased many fish away, Makowecki said. Also, there were yellow perch, northern pike and burbot found in the second area and they tend to scare other fish away because they are predators.
“The predators can really influence the numbers of forage fish in an area,” said Makowecki. The previous records for Stoney Lake do not show any burbot. That new information along with all the records will be submitted to Alberta Environment. There were few species of forage fish such as brook stickleback, lake chub and fathead minnows also found in both areas.
The amount of small dirt particles suspended in the water is measured with a turbidity meter inside and outside of the curtain throughout the construction process, said Makowecki. Then willows will be re-planted in the wet areas along the shore to simulate the natural area before the construction project began. The new rock will prevent the waves from eroding the road and will create great habitat for burbot, he said.
