Wabamun Lake Watershed Management Plan

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2020 Wabamun Watershed Management Plan

After many long years of hard work, a comprehensive Wabamun Watershed Management Plan was published in 2020. The full report can be downloaded here (PDF) or a 2-page summary of the report here. The report and summary can also be accessed though our Studies and Reports page.

As well, Michael Short of Let’s Go Outdoors has produced for the WWMC two videos about the Watershed Management Plan. The first is a good overview of what the plan is designed to do and the second one highlights the collaboration that was required among all the stakeholders to bring the plan to fruition and will be required for successful implementation.

Scroll down for information about just what a Watershed Management Plan is.

What is a Watershed Management Plan?

A watershed is an area of land where all the surface water drains into the same body of water, whether that be a creek, river or lake. A watershed management plan is a commitment by the various stakeholders in a waterbody to collaborate on managing the watershed for the health of the waterbody. It is a “road map” that outlines who will do what, when, where and how.

The completion of a watershed management plan for Wabamun Lake has always been a goal of the WWMC. Toward that end, we completed a State of the Watershed Report for the lake in 2013 (PDF) that outlined what is known about the health of the lake and what needs to be known. The report spawned further studies of the watershed, including a survey of the shoreline of the lake to determine how much of the riparian area has been compromised by development, etc. (2014-Riparian Health of Wabamun Lake [PDF]) and an ongoing study of wetlands around the lake.

Wabamun Lake’s watershed (outlined in black) is small compared to other lakes of similar size. It is about three times the size of the lake.

Wabamun Lake’s watershed (outlined in black) is small compared to other lakes of similar size. It is about three times the size of the lake.

The Wabamun Lake Watershed Management Plan was written with the help of the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance (NSWA) and a Steering Committee made up of representatives from various stakeholder groups, including governments (provincial, municipal and summer villages), industry, residents and organizations.

You can download the plan and a 2-page summary of it through our Studies and Reports page.