Scuba diver maintains new bubbler in Shoal Lake

SHOAL LAKE — The new aeration system at Shoal Lake received some underwater repairs last week when a team of environmental specialists scuba dived to maintain bubblers on the lakebed.

The new field of 18 bubblers off the shoreline on the east side of the lake were calibrated by technicians from AAE Tech Services during two hours of diving last week Monday. Technicians got their first underwater look at the bubblers that were installed last year in order to adjust the equipment to best promote fish health.

The company’s founder, Mark Lowdon, told the Sun that it’s an annual caretaking job to ensure the equipment oxygenates the lake evenly. The equipment counteracts environmental conditions at Shoal Lake.

“We are basically just diving, re-adjusting the bubbler heads to make sure that every one of them is functioning properly, and just doing the regular maintenance,” he said. “They have so much nutrients going into that lake, and there’s so much methane, it’s an environmental headache basically … It’s hard to keep fish alive, and so there’s two aeration systems on that lake.”

The proper functioning of the equipment counteracts negative lake conditions such as fish die-offs due to a lack of oxygen, and algae blooms. A staff member on site last week dove from a small boat with an oxygen tank and weighted vest to reach 12 bubblers that needed to be recalibrated.

When the team arrived, they found that some bubblers had been twisted underwater, kinking the air line and reducing airflow; they also found that some bubblers were not releasing air due to the combination of high pressure from deep water and valves that were too tightly screwed shut. The affected bubblers, when corrected, released a welling-up of bubbles that brought a stench from the bottom of the lake to the surface.

The dive was up to 14 feet in spots. The maintenance trip allowed staff to determine how the bubbler valves should be set — by visiting and viewing the bubble patterns on the surface, important adjustments were made that ensured all 18 bubblers were calibrated to release air as best as possible based on their underwater depth, and position in a circuit-like order with other bubbler heads.

The shoreline air compressor and pump were also maintained, a job required every year to ensure the equipment is properly feeding into Shoal Lake. The equipment was greased, and some fins were replaced that push air through tubes that run on the floor of the lake, according to a staff member.

The work was a follow-up from the installation in 2025, when a team from AAE Tech Services visited and dropped the equipment from a boat on the surface.

AAE Tech Services manages aeration systems in a number of Westman lakes, including Kerrs Lake, Bower Lake, Oak Lake, Tees Lake, and Kenton Reservoir.

The president of AAE said the aeration systems are a way to give back to the community.

The fisheries company conducts grant work, buys the equipment in advance, installs the equipment on the lake as well as a pump and shack on the shoreline, and then bills the municipality. Lowdon said he works to cover his costs only.

“I pretty well do it free of charge for the most part, I want to get my costs covered, but the amount of man hours that it costs to get these systems put in, you need the right boats, the right equipment, you are taking a lot of risk too,” he said. “If a watershed district wanted an aeration to fix up a lake, and there’s no one else that does it, that’s where we step in.”

He said the company does not make even one per cent of its revenue from installing and maintaining aeration systems, but does the work to promote fisheries and stay involved in communities.

“This is not putting food on our table to keep my employees employed, right? It’s a feel good thing for the people. That’s why we’re going out, and we’re not charging these organizations to go out and even do maintenance on some of these things.”

The company installed four systems last year in Westman in Kerrs Lake, Bower Lake, Oak Lake, and Kenton Reservoir, and returns to sites for maintenance as needed, Lowdon said. The scuba divers also visited Kerrs Lake last week to perform the same annual maintenance as at Shoal Lake.

The company makes most of its revenue from environmental consultation on construction projects, and environmental impact assessments, Lowdon said. But the fishery work with aeration systems is a positive way to get involved, he said.

“It’s awesome. You basically take a fishery that is non-existent and you create one,” Lowdon said. “When you can do an enhancemement project, it ties into what my company is there for and what we do.”

In previous interviews, RM of Prairie Lakes Reeve Darren Seymour and Killarney lake committee member Betty Sawatzky said aeration systems in their lakes had greatly reduced fish die offs and allowed beaches to stay open longer because of cleaner water. At Oak Lake, the province funded an aeration system last year in order to promote fish health and tourism.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com