LUTSEL K'E/SNOWDRIFT - James Marlowe was surprised to find his usual boating route had dried up when he went to look for moose along Murky Channel near Lutsel K'e two weeks ago.

Steve Ellis of Lutsel K'e scans the shore of the nearby Stark River at night for ciscoes, Sept. 24. Water levels on the river and shoreline of Great Slave Lake are noticeably lower this year, and residents say the cisco run came much earlier than expected. - Mike W. Bryant/NNSL photo

Residents in Lutsel K'e and surrounding communities have been concerned and perplexed about noticeably lower water levels in recent months, prompting some to raise questions about the widespread impacts of downstream development.

"I just went there and now it's nothing but dry land," said Marlowe, sub-chief of the Lutsel K'e Dene Band. "It's a concern. There's areas in some lakes and bays where rocks are popping out that we've never seen before and in some places where there used to be creeks, they're all dried up."

Marlowe said the band council is "trying to find out why it's happening and if it disrupts the wildlife."

The water level in the East Arm of Great Slave Lake has dropped two feet since last summer, estimates Archie Catholique, a self-government, land and resources negotiator in Lutsel K'e. It's gotten so shallow in some spots that people have been forced to change their boating routes for fear of hitting rocks or getting stuck in the mud.

Catholique himself moved his boat dock five feet farther out into the water when he noticed the shoreline receding, which he said has had a "big time" effect on residents.

"I'm more cautious about where I go now," Catholique said, adding the dropping water level has elders talking about the negative effects of development in upstream jurisdictions. Some even attribute this dry-up to dam operations in British Columbia. The Bennett Dam in British Columbia has been shown to affect water fluctuation in the Mackenzie Delta, where this past summer several boaters found themselves suddenly beached during regular trips along the channel.

Tom Beaulieu, MLA for Tu Nedhe, said he's seen lower water levels across the region, from Fort Resolution to Fort Smith.

"I don't know if the world is drying up or what," he said. "This low water is a real concern for people."

Beaulieu said he does worry about the water levels, particularly because no one has been able to pinpoint the culprit behind all the dried up creeks and bays.

"I don't know why it's happening. I'm not sure," he said. "It appears that other watersheds are affected that may not be directly on the watershed of the Bennett Dam, but the Bennett Dam does affect the Mackenzie River watershed so that's pretty substantial."

He added, though, that while his constituents are concerned about water, it's not the first thing on their minds.

"I guess they just have too many housing issues to concern themselves with water right now," Beaulieu said.

Lakes and rivers across the country reported lower than usual water levels this past summer, a fact Environment and Natural Resources Minister Michael Miltenberger attributes to rising global temperatures.

"Here in Fort Smith, there are rocks sticking out from the rapids that we've never seen before. I've been up to Aklavik, to Norman Wells, in all the valleys. Everywhere, it's the same," he said. "We're in the midst of significant climate change."

Climate change, combined with the operations of the upstream Alberta oil sands, is having a dangerous Effect on the Mackenzie River Basin and could jeopardize NWT's water supply, he said.

"People are going to want to know if they'll have enough water to drink."

The GNWT has been working for 13 years to get upstream jurisdictions - Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan - to sign on to a trans-boundary water agreement. Miltenberger said he expects those provinces will pay more attention now that they're noticing their own water levels shrink. The department is now working to update its Water Strategy - introduced last fall - with input from NWT residents through an online survey on ENR's website.

"We're very politically active pushing our water strategy in every jurisdiction," he said. "That pressure will just continue to mount as people become more aware of what's happening to the water."

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.