Silver Lake

[Drake]

What has happened to Silver lake? I have been going to Waterloo park for a few years now and this puddle isn't what it used to be. I have looked at historic photos of a floating platform that kids used to jump off of into the water. Today, jumping into the lake would likely cause serious injury if not death.

The Canada Goose population, as out of control as it is, seems to use this lake exclusively as a toilet. It is pretty gross. The water level always seems to be very low.

What has caused this? Have we diverted the source somehow? The city website reports 2 centuries ago, 8 - 10k tons of ice were taken from this lake yearly. I can't imagine that volume today.

I took a picture last night of a relatively high water level in the lake and I still see it is very low as far as lakes go.

[plam]

What has happened to Silver lake? I have been going to Waterloo park for a few years now and this puddle isn't what it used to be. I have looked at historic photos of a floating platform that kids used to jump off of into the water. Today, jumping into the lake would likely cause serious injury if not death.

The Canada Goose population, as out of control as it is, seems to use this lake exclusively as a toilet. It is pretty gross. The water level always seems to be very low.

What has caused this? Have we diverted the source somehow? The city website reports 2 centuries ago, 8 - 10k tons of ice were taken from this lake yearly. I can't imagine that volume today.

I took a picture last night of a relatively high water level in the lake and I still see it is very low as far as lakes go.

I'm not sure what has happened recently but we have certainly slowed the flow of water through the lake. I found some documents from the city or from a research project about it. The stream and water are therefore also warmer than they used to be.

[KevinL]

A new outflow structure was put together at Caroline Street about 20 years ago, replacing a deteriorating weir, if I recall. This has affected the flow and water level to a good degree.

[clasher]

I would image it is filling up with silt from upstream, much like the pond in Vic Park. Goose poop and the people that feed them also exacerbate the problem. Someone should develop a robot dog to chase the geese away since they are a protected species.

[Drake]

Someone should develop a robot dog to chase the geese away since they are a protected species.

Here is a video of a robot dog. I hate the geese, but I prefer them to seeing one of these running around. I find this robot unsettling.

[Markster]

I would image it is filling up with silt from upstream, much like the pond in Vic Park. Goose poop and the people that feed them also exacerbate the problem. Someone should develop a robot dog to chase the geese away since they are a protected species.

Wait... the protected species is the one we're hassling with a robot attack dog?

[plam]

I would image it is filling up with silt from upstream, much like the pond in Vic Park. Goose poop and the people that feed them also exacerbate the problem. Someone should develop a robot dog to chase the geese away since they are a protected species.

Wait... the protected species is the one we're hassling with a robot attack dog?

Not actually protected as an endangered species.

https://www.ec.gc.ca/mbc-com/default.asp...98A918B1-1

In general: resident geese are quite abundant. Migratory geese are protected as migratory birds, not because they are rare. As such, one needs a permit before killing Canada geese.

[kps]

Migratory geese are protected as migratory birds, not because they are rare.

Kill 'em all in January. You wanna qualify as a migratory bird? Then migrate.

[nms]

Getting back to the lake itself... I understand that when the new weir was put in place that it was actually put in at a lower height than the previous version so naturally, the lake level dropped as well.

[insider]

What has happened to Silver lake?

To clarify, the water level is not low - it stays at the same level all the time because it is man made and there is a dam at the end. What makes it seem really low is that a lot of sediment has been accumulating increasingly for the past few years. The geese and duck population don't help with this, and the fact that people feed them there has devastating consequences for the ecosystem. By feeding the birds, they literally stay there all year, and reproduce there too.

There are plans to completely dredge out the sediment from Silver Lake in the next 2 years and implement a natural restoration initiative, similar to what was done to Victoria Park Lake a few years ago.

[Drake]

Thanks

[Memph]

I would image it is filling up with silt from upstream, much like the pond in Vic Park. Goose poop and the people that feed them also exacerbate the problem. Someone should develop a robot dog to chase the geese away since they are a protected species.

My dog certainly wouldn't mind helping chase them.

[BuildingScout]

   
We saw an otter in Silver lake today

[nms]

Are you sure it wasn't a muskrat instead? They are shorter and stouter.

[BuildingScout]

Are you sure it wasn't a muskrat instead? They are shorter and stouter.

It look too skinny for a muskrat, but it is hard to tell the difference when they are swimming.