There it is :-)
The body of water is referred to as Swalwell Dam but it was originally named Fyten Reservoir in 1964, for the name of the owner who donated (sold for $1) the property to the County, to be used as a recreational site. “The province has been stocking the dam with 10,000 rainbow trout per year, for 51 years”, said Bowen. Having been advised that the province could be cutting back on stocking lesser-used areas, the changes at Swalwell (such as overnight camping two years ago) and now aerators and treatment islands to protect fish and improve their habitat may encourage more users and anglers, promote the landscape of Kneehill County and show the province the positive steps being taken.
Along with Kneehill County, Olds College, and Mountain View County other communities are also discovering what an important tool these floating habitats are to water stewardship. Vegreville, Olds, and University of Lethbridge utilize them. “Airdrie uses these in their storm water retention ponds,” said Bowen. “They are not very deep and are prime for algae bloom. The islands clean and cool the water with (shade) and they are aesthetically pleasing. These are an amazing remedy for poor water quality. A project in Carseland has shown a 50% reduction in phosphorous from samples taken twice weekly. Manufactured water retention ponds in the States for research purposes have shown improvement with one and two islands of up to 50% but when the number of islands increases substantially, so do the results, showing improvement percentages as high as 80 and 90.” These micro-organisms (microbes for short) are living organisms that maintain life on earth and protozoa specifically is one of the most important for wastewater purification. Along with industrial pollutants and human waste, protozoa are described as being able to gorge themselves on ammonia, improving the clarity and smell of effluent. The Bow River Phosphorous plan has Wheatland County signing on for a floating island project for treatment of sewage effluent lagoons, to enhance filtration. These islands are being used for lake restoration, mosquito abatement, treatment of industrial storm water runoff, waste water treatment lagoons, protection and restoration of sensitive coastal areas, spawning habitat for bass and the list goes on.
The County hopes that through improving water quality and fish habitat, reducing winter and summer fish kills and preventing or reducing algae blooms, the overall habitat of the dam will be improved and put a spotlight on conservation and initiate water quality improvement education for dugouts and creeks. These floating islands are an important tool in water stewardship and the Swalwell initiative will be part of the Kneehill County Agriculture Summer Tour on Wednesday, July 20.
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