Sylvan Lake locals taking aim at noise
Program tackles loud watercraft, music at popular Alberta resort town
Sylvan Lake residents campaigning to stop noise pollution in the central Alberta resort town say decades of hullabaloo have reached an unbearable level.
“Everybody should be able to enjoy (the lake) without a very noisy boat going by and rattling your brains,” said the chairman of the Sylvan Lake Quiet Enjoyment Initiative (QEI), Kent Lyle.
Lyle said discussions about noise control have been ongoing for more than 20 years, as an increasing number of boaters have started visiting the town west of Red Deer in the summer. But two years ago, community groups encouraged the Sylvan Lake Watershed Stewardship Society to form the QEI and start solving the issue.
And now, they’re launching an education program to convince Sylvan Lake-goers to quiet down.
The biggest problem is caused by watercraft without proper mufflers, Lyle said.
Though inboard and outboard motors are OK, Lyle compared the roar of an unmuffled boat engine to the sound of a motorcyclist passing you on the street. “They’re very noisy,” he said. “We’ve all got our own recollections of the first time we heard a really noisy boat on the lake.”
Though it’s illegal under federal law to drive a boat without a muffler within eight kilometres of the shore, Lyle said it’s difficult to stop people who do it.
“(Local law enforcement) needs more help from the community and the government,” he said.
The problem doesn’t go away in the winter, either — unmuffled snowmobiling can be just as loud, Lyle said.
The noise pollution is made worse by the high-quality music systems aboard many boats, which can project sound far across the lake.
“They play it very loud and, of course, noise carries over the water so well,” he said.
The QEI campaign includes pamphlets distributed near the waterfront and signage at boat launch sites, among other things.
Though Lyle says some have suggested the increasing decibel levels could be bad for both human and animal health, he said the main concern for now is to make Sylvan Lake’s waterfront more pleasant for everybody.
If that approach doesn’t make a difference, he said he doesn’t know what the next steps will be.
“It could be that awareness and education won’t work, and we’ll have to work with the RCMP,” he said. “Our group is pretty determined to do something about it and we’ll keep working at it until we get it resolved.”