Jeff Colbourne
Northern News Services

NNSL (May 20/98) - A water control gate mistakenly left open by the city is said to have allowed Range Lake to drain below normal levels this year, turning some parts into an unusable, smelly swamp.

The city issued a media release last Friday explaining the situation after residents of Finlayson Drive North complained of low water levels behind their backyard lake.

"On Tuesday, May 12, it was brought to the city's attention that the water level in Range Lake was significantly lower than it was at the same time last year or in recent months," said Gary Craig, director of public works and engineering with the City.

Each fall prior to freezeup, the west-end gate is closed to maintain desired water levels.

This year, however, the control gate was left open later than normal to maintain appropriate water levels. An undetected water-service leak was draining underground into Range Lake keeping water levels high.

The leak was detected and repaired in December but the repair crew forgot to close the gate. When the lake ice thawed this spring, the water unknowingly drained out from the lake.

"The city has taken immediate action to close the gate and the gate will remain closed until such time as the lake recovers to an acceptable level," said Craig.

"Investigations are currently under way to determine exactly what that

level should be."

Fraser Oliver, a resident of Finlayson Drive North for seven years, said this year the lake has dropped about 45 centimetres.

"I've voiced my concern about paying extra taxes for water viewing, that the city has deemed I should be paying so I'm paying a little more for that. And then it's the environmental part of that. We've had swans, we've had geese, we've had sand herrings and all kinds of ducks.... They won't be back," said Oliver in an earlier interview.

"I think it's wrong. and the answers that I've got were valid," he said this week. "But it's more or less like, oh well, we're just going to have to wait 'til we get some rain now. That's not good enough. This should never have happened."