It looks similar, it smells similar and it’s covering most of Mara Lake….

Ed. Note: as of May 14, the bloom is still there. Possible sources of excessive nutrients that resulted in this bloom include agricultural run-off and the sewage effluent from the Enderby Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Suspected algae bloom blights Mara Lake
By Barb Brouwer,
Salmon Arm Observer
May 12, 2010

It looks similar, it smells similar and it’s covering most of Mara Lake.

But whether a suspected algal bloom is the same as the Shuswap Lake one that stretched from Salmon Arm Bay to Sicamous in June 2008, was yet to be determined at the Shuswap Market News press deadline.

Tina Keeley, Mara Lake resident and co-ordinator of a 15-member Shuswap Water Action Team (SWAT) water testing crew, got a call about 2 p.m. Tuesday advising her that what was suspected to be an algal bloom had been spotted at the south end of Mara Lake.

A couple of hours later, Keeley received another call, this time from a Swansea Point volunteer.

‘She said she could see it ‘ rust, brown, yellow in streaks and a putrid smell,’ said Keeley. ‘She figured it stretched from Swansea Dock to Black Point, close to the entrance of Turtle Bay.

‘From what she could see, she suggested 60 to 70 metres long and about 20 metres across.’

Keeley called the Ministry of Environment to report the sighting and says staff responded quickly, promising to send staff out the following morning.

‘We rounded up a bunch of water testers and asked them to take samples and tell us if and where they spotted the bloom,’ says Keeley, noting that her biggest concern was to inform everyone who gets water from the lake not to drink it until they knew what they were dealing with.

When Keeley and her husband went out on the lake Wednesday morning the bloom had sunk below the surface.

‘We headed south to the slide area on Highway 97A and were right in the middle of it, about five to six feet below the surface of the water, all big huge yellow swirls, but no smell,’ she says. ‘We drifted and it would come around the boat, then it would be gone. Whether it’s breaking up or sinking because of the cold nights we don’t know.’

Gabriele Matscha, an environmental section head in MOE’s Kamloops office, said Wednesday her staff were on Mara Lake collecting samples which were to be tested by an algal specialist Thursday.

‘I cannot comment on whether it is the same, but similarities have been observed,’ Matscha said referring to the 2008 Shuswap Lake bloom that was similar in time of year, colour and associated odour. ‘Their report indicates a threat that it’s likely an algal bloom that has spread from Shuswap River to Mara Point.’

Testing was expected to reveal algae type, concentration and potential risks of the algae to human and the environment, said Matscha, noting MOE planned to release a question and answer sheet once the details became available. Matscha said MOE staff will continue to investigate in a step-by-step process to find both causes and the source of the bloom.

Environmentalists were vocal about the appearance of the bloom.

‘Once again, we’re facing a large algal bloom that is like the canary in the coal mine,’ said Shuswap Environmental Action Society president Jim Cooperman. ‘It points to serious problems in Shuswap and Mara lakes and the need for a Shuswap watershed council as recommended by SLIPP (Shuswap Lake Integrated Planning Process).’

SWAT president Ray Nadeau calls the algal bloom another indication of excess nutrients being put into the lake from various sources

The city of Salmon Arm’s economic study used to justify the need for big-box development is grossly flawed and misleading….

Reports vastly different
By Barb Brouwer, Salmon Arm Observer
May 11, 2010

Information being used to update Salmon Arm’s official community plan is seriously flawed, say several residents.

The group commissioned a methodological review of a recent Retail and Industrial Land Use Market Study and Impact Analysis prepared for the City of Salmon Arm by Urbanics Consultants of Vancouver.

‘I read the Urbanics study and personally thought it was seriously flawed,’ says Ian Wickett, a member of the group that includes David Askew, Louise Wallace, Don Sawyer and Bill Remphrey. ‘This study confirms my concerns that assumptions without basis, analysis without rigour and drastically wrong conclusions (are contained) in the Urbanics study.’

City staff and Urbanics report author Cody Matheson told the Observer in January the report was written without bias and represented the best data available at the time of its undertaking.

But Wickett takes issue with how some of the data was collected for the report which, he says, is being heavily relied upon in the OCP review to justify the need to provide land for big-box retailers along the Trans-Canada Highway.

‘This course is being pursued in the face of the OCP review survey in which only 37 per cent of respondents supported this measure,’ he says.

The new report, completed by Thomas Consultants Inc. (TCI), a major Vancouver retail development and consultant firm, contends that Urbanics’ use of provincial-level retail trade data gathered by Statistics Canada led to misleading trade-area spending estimates.

TCI examined trade-area-specific spending characteristics and found the Urbanics’ estimates, for example, are significantly misleading in a number of key retail categories, including apparel, footwear, electronics, home furnishings, home improvements, food and beverage, supermarkets, alcohol, tobacco and services, Wickett says.

Calculations of retail dollars spent outside the community are also misleading, according to the Thomas Consultants report.

One of the worst distortions is that Urbanics ignored much of the grocery floor space, Wickett adds, estimating out-of-town spending in the grocery category to be $54 million ‘ a full 250 per cent higher than the Thomas Consultants’ figure of $21 million.

‘The estimate of $216 million of yearly outflow means, on average, given our regional population of 34,500, a household of four would spend approximately $25,000 after tax dollars,’ says Wallace, maintaining Urbanics’ numbers themselves reveal the report’s flaws. ‘We know from the latest census data that the median after-tax income in 2005 for a census of all families in this region is only $49,172, leaving a mere $2,000 per month for all expenses combined, including transportation, housing, utilities and insurance. It just doesn’t add up.’

Since recapturing money local people spend outside this trading area was key to Urbanics’ argument that large-format stores are needed in Salmon Arm, Wallace, Wickett and the other group members say exposure of the ‘huge overestimate,’ debunks Urbanics rather rosy analysis of the impact on existing businesses.

‘If a large format retail store were to be successful in Salmon Arm, many local businesses would be affected disastrously for many years to come,’ says Wickett.

The Thomas Consultants review concludes there are sufficient deficiencies in the consultant’s retail outflow and impact analyses to warrant re-examination.

‘It is important to note that TCI is not opposed to any retail format including large retail format, and sees considerable value in weaving an appropriately scaled mix of various formats into a community in locations which will help to increase its overall appeal, retain healthy spending and ultimately complement existing retail concentrations,’ reads the review’s conclusion. ‘That being said, it is important for municipal decision-making to be informed by the best possible retail market information and associated analysis and recommendations. Therefore, a re-examination of retail outflow by category and retail impact assessment which accounts for future supply considerations is highly recommended for Salmon Arm.’

The Thomas Consultants report was funded by donation.

To see the complete review visit www.wickettbusinessservices.com/reportreview

SmartCentres’ proposed shopping centre for the west end of Salmon Arm is back on the table, but reduced from 34 to 22 acres….

SmartCentres scales back development plans

Salmon Arm Observer
By Martha Wickett
May 12, 2010

SmartCentres’ proposed shopping centre for the west end of town is back on the table.

The City of Salmon Arm has now received a revised application from SmartCentres, confirms the city’s director of development services Corey Paiement.

The application was put on hold in January after the Ministry of Environment asked the company to redo a portion of its Riparian Areas Regulation (RAR) report regarding its property near the Salmon River. The issue in question was how often the river spills over its banks and, in turn, how close to the river a development could be built.

Paiement said Wednesday that a revised application was received earlier in the week, which features a smaller footprint.

‘Basically the difference is, the proposal is for a retail area of approximately 20 acres,’ he said, explaining that the former application was for 34 acres of retail development.

The city had not yet received the revised report from a qualified environmental professional (QEP) that’s required by the regulation, but Paiement said the city has received an e-mail saying the Ministry of Environment has approved the QEP report.

Paiement said the city is also awaiting an updated traffic study because traffic requirements may be less with a smaller retail development. The property is located northeast of the intersection of 30th Street SW and the Trans-Canada Highway.

Regarding time frame, Paiement said once city staff have received all the information, they must review it to consider the changes.

‘The earliest it could possibly start going before council would be sometime in June to (the) development and planning (committee).’

SmartCentres’ Salmon Arm Shopping Centre website notes that its revised RAR assessment was approved April 30, and the amended proposal will consist of approximately 22 acres.

‘We are requesting the site be rezoned to Comprehensive Development Zone to permit the development of the shopping centre. National retailers including Home Depot, Future Shop, Winners, Staples, and more, continue to express interest in locating their stores in Salmon Arm,” states the website.

The diagram on the website outlining the new plan shows just one large format store, as opposed to the three that were once proposed.

Nathan Hildebrand, land development manager for SmartCentres, responded by e-mail to the Observer.

‘The total proposed size of the centre is approximately 240,000 square feet and we anticipate construction to occur in phases over the next four to five years,’ he stated.

When SmartCentres submitted its first application in October 2007, which was turned down after a series of marathon public hearings, the company reported it had purchased about 60 acres with the plan to use 40 acres for retail and parking.

In a second attempt, in August 2009 the company submitted a report from a qualified environmental professional to the city, to try to get environmental requirements dealt with first. However, in December, the ministry commissioned an additional environmental assessment.

At the May 12 meeting of the Salmon Arm Downtown Improvement Association board, DIA manager Joanne Mason told the board that Hildebrand paid a visit to the DIA last week.

‘It was nothing more than a courtesy call ‘ they’re resubmitting their application to the city. They will be requesting a substantially smaller parcel of land.’

Coun. Chad Eliason, the city’s representative on the DIA board, said he would expect a public hearing in June or July.

‘If I was a betting man, probably mid-summer,” Eliason said.

Mayor Marty Bootsma told the Observer that he spoke to Hildebrand about a week ago and understands that the revised plan would include about eight acres above and beyond the urban containment boundary.

‘It looks like it’s scaled back considerably.’

Asked if SmartCentres is frustrated or happy with the process, Bootsma said he’s sure the company would have preferred to have its first proposal go through.

‘I can’t speak to their emotions, if they have any. It’s a business, right?’