Pipestone Flyer
The Municipal Council of the Summer Village of Grandview on the south shore of Pigeon Lake today became the first Alberta municipality to pass a bylaw banning the use of lawn fertilizers and herbicides within its municipal boundaries.
This move is the most recent in a series of actions taken by Council to provide improved watershed stewardship for Pigeon Lake.
Council members based their decision on widespread agreement in the scientific community that improvements in water quality can only be achieved by the control of what goes into the lake. The prohibition of lawn fertilizers next to a water body should be a “no brainer,” in the words of one lake steward.
The Summer Village of Grandview has resolved to be a leader in watershed stewardship and has undertaken other initiatives for the protection of the lake. It has established environmental reserves throughout the summer village, undertaken a creek restoration project, lobbied the Provincial Government for changes in the regulations governing septic fields adjacent to water bodies, led the project for the eradication of Himalayan Balsam from Pigeon Lake and recently passed a Land Use Bylaw which contains specific provisions recognizing the impact development is having on the health of the lake. There has been widespread support from the residents for these actions.
It is hoped that other lakeside communities throughout Alberta will take similar actions to mitigate the effects of development on the health of our lakes.
For more information, please contact Mayor Don Davidson at 403-860-1050 or Donald_d@telus.net