Weather dislodges Clear Lake containment curtain
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/08/2024 (493 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Parks Canada staff are working with a contractor to inspect the containment curtain at Boat Cove in Clear Lake and put it back in place after it was dislodged by heavy winds last week, a Riding Mountain National Park spokesperson said Monday.
The containment curtain was put in place with the hopes of containing the possible spread of zebra mussels after the invasive species was detected in Boat Cove through both visual inspections and environmental DNA testing.
The curtain encompasses Boat Cove, the pier near the Wasagaming Visitor Centre and the Clear Lake Marina. The area the curtain covers west of the pier was affected.
Installation of the curtain finished on Aug. 6, but then there were heavy winds over the next couple of days leading it to drift toward the shore in several locations.
“Part of that curtain remains in the lake,” said Dameon Wall, the park’s external relations manager. “My understanding is they’re in the process of lifting that curtain up from the bottom of the lake. They’ll be doing an assessment. Some of it may need to come out.”
So far, there haven’t been any issues with visitors to the lake or animals getting tangled up in the curtain. Wall said the dislodgement has not affected any inspections still looking for zebra mussels.
However, Wall reminds those heading to Clear Lake that they should not touch the curtain and stay at least 20 metres away from it at all times.
Most of the area the curtain covers was closed to public access even before it was dislodged by the weather.
A small area to the east of the pier remains available for swimming.
If Parks Canada decides to use potassium chloride, also known as potash, as a pesticide to kill the zebra mussels, the curtain will help contain it. A live mussel and a partial shell were recently discovered in Boat Cove, and water samples taken from the area have tested positive for zebra mussel environmental DNA.
When eDNA was detected from a sample taken near the Clear Lake Marina late last month, Parks Canada revoked permission for the Martese tour boat to operate.
It had been one of the few watercraft still allowed to use the lake after they were banned earlier this year. Still exempted from the ban are a boat owned by Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation and Parks Canada boats.
» cslark@brandonsun.com
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