Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Water levels in the Southern Lakes region are the highest on record for Oct. 12. Heavy rainfall caused rising waters in Bennett Lake, Tagish Lake and Marsh Lake in late September and early October. The rising waters have prompted a high-water advisory, which means water levels could quickly rise but no major flooding is expected, for the region.
The Yukon government has issued a high water advisory for the Southern Lakes including Bennett, Tagish and Marsh Lake. A Wednesday advisory said the water levels are "well above average for this time of year." The levels are above the five-year return period water level, which refers to the expected frequency that a level or flow could be exceeded based on statistical analysis of historic records.
In an effort to help prevent flooding in the Southern Lakes area, Yukon Energy was given the green light to lower the level of Marsh Lake by an additional 10 centimetres. The Yukon Water Board granted the utility permission to lower the levels last week. Marsh Lake, a 30-kilometre long glacier-fed lake, is the northernmost of several lakes that make up the Southern Lakes district.
Yukon Energy is again asking for permission this year to lower the level of Marsh Lake, in anticipation of possible flooding this summer. The company has submitted an "urgent" application to the Yukon Water Board to amend its licence for this year. If approved, Yukon Energy would open a downstream dam this spring to allow Marsh Lake to drop by up to 10 centimetres below what's normally allowed.
The water levels in Yukon's Southern Lakes are slowly going down — at least for now. In a flood update issued over the weekend, the territorial government said Bennett, Tagish, and Marsh lakes, as well as Lake Laberge, had all gone down between 0.9 and 1.5 centimetres in 24 hours. All four remain well above 2007 levels, in particular Lake Laberge, which is currently 32.1 centimetres higher.
Evacuation alerts have been issued for areas of Tagish, as well as areas of Marsh Lake and Lewes River Road in Yukon, according to a public flood update released by the Emergency Measures Organization Saturday. The alert is because of high water and flooding in the area. All of Southern Lakes and Lake Laberge have surpassed 2007 flood levels. Yukon residents and visitors in the affected area have been placed on alert and must prepare to be ready to evacuate on short notice.
Yukoners wondering just how high water levels could get this summer should start looking to the skies. Though flood warnings remain in place for the Southern Lakes, Lake Laberge, and the Yukon River at Carmacks, Kat Hallett, a spokesperson for the government of Yukon, said one source of rising water appears to be running out. "What we've noted over the last few days is that rates of rise are decreasing a little bit," she told host Elyn Jones on CBC Radio's Yukon Morning on Tuesday.
Some property owners along South McClintock Road in Yukon have cleared out as Marsh Lake continues to rise. "It's up fairly high and, you know, it's a west wind so the waves pound those sandbags," said John Small, a Whitehorse resident who owns a recreational property on South McClintock Road. Small and some of his neighbours say they were told by emergency officials to vacate their Marsh Lake properties on Sunday.
As water levels in Lake Laberge hit a historic high, the Yukon government is issuing three new flood watches — adding to the flood warning already out for the Southern Lakes region. In the Southern Lakes area, boil water advisories have also been issued for residents of Army Beach and South McClintock with wells or underground water storage tanks as a "precautionary measure."
Residents in Yukon's Southern Lakes region are bracing for the worst as water levels continue to creep dangerously high. Thousands of sandbags have been filled, and other measures are being taken to minimize any potential damage. In Bennett Lake, Tagish Lake and Marsh Lake water levels rose about 10 centimetres or more in the last 24 hours, according to a Yukon government flood warning issued for the area on Tuesday.
