Buffalo Lake project pumping along
By BRENDA KOSSOWAN
Advocate staff
Pumps installed to raise water levels at Buffalo
Lake are now hard at work for the 1997 season.
Ken Looten, an official w i t h Alberta Environ­
mental Protection i n Red Deer, said the pumps
were started early i n June after a short delay.
Some residents in the area sought to prevent the
project from getting under way, and suggested i n
one letter that they may seek help from the court,
said Looten, branch head of operations for the de­
partment's Parkland region.
Looten said he hasn't been told so far to shut the
pumps off.

Although this is the second year of active pump­
ing for the Buffalo Lake Stabilization Project, the
pumps and system are still undergoing a schedule
of tests. There was a problem with the main pump
last year which required that all the work was done
by the smaller, auxiliary pump, said Looten.
Both pumps, located on the R e d Deer River
southeast of Joffre, must be tested in a variety of
situations throughout this season before they can
be declared fully operational, he said.
The project has been getting some help from un­
usually heavy snowpacks over the last two winters.
The high amount of runoff from spring helped put
more water into the lake than they would have re­
ceived i n a typical year. The rate at which the lake

level is raised depends largely on natural precipita­
tion and drying rates, he said.
The water level of the lake has been declining for
decades. The project is intended to improve recre­
ational potential around the lake.
"The whims of nature far outweigh the capacity
for the system at Buffalo Lake to be productive on a
continuous basis," said Looten.
The $9.5 million Buffalo Lake Stabilization Pro­
ject is financed by the province's Public Lands De­
partment and operated by the Buffalo Lake Man­
agement Team.
Buffalo Lake lies between Erskine and Bashaw.
Water for the project is taken from the Red Deer
River, via Parlby Creek.