Resort community’s crude awakening
Lake users tally damage from pipeline oil leak
One week after a pipeline leaked crude oil into the Red Deer River and closed Gleniffer Lake, Diane Bender is worried about her livelihood.
For the realtor, who also manages rentals at the resort, the stakes are high: She doesn’t have any other income.
“People are phoning and wanting to cancel,” says Bender, who has already had cancellations on cottage rentals and boat slips in the marina at Gleniffer Lake Resort & Country Club.
Her property sales, which average between 35 and 40 a year, have also dried up.
“I had sales up until the oil spill,” she says, noting eight vacation properties already sold this spring. “Now, the phone is not ringing at all.”
A week ago, a section of pipeline owned by Plains Midstream Canada running under a river tributary near Sundre leaked up to 475,000 litres of oil.
The company has said high river levels flushed most of the oil downstream into Gleniffer Lake, a man-made reservoir and recreational area about 75 minutes northwest of Calgary.
People like bender worry that with the lake closed, the resort development, which relies on an already short summer tourism season, could suffer.
According to Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, the cleanup efforts on both the river and lake are going well.
“We’re not seeing pooled oil in the reservoir,” says Martin Bundred, noting most of the cleanup involves picking up trees and other oily debris, and hauling it away for disposal.
Bundred, who is overseeing the cleanup by the company for the province, says they will eventually be able to move a boom now dissecting the lake back to the mouth of the river.
“We don’t believe it will take too long,” he says, suggesting it will likely be weeks rather than months. “We have to be realistic about the weather.”
In a statement Thursday, Plains Midstream said it’s focused on the cleanup and understands the leak’s impact on residents and local tourism.
“We have 209 people working on cleanup and environmental monitoring,” said Darlene Crowell, director of corporate communications.
“We understand that everyone would like things to progress as quickly as possible — including ourselves.”
Indeed, as the cleanup continues, the opening date for the lake is critical.
Those who rely on it for their livelihood say the summer tourist season kicks into full swing by the July long weekend, now just 14 days away.
“If it’s two weeks, it’s probably not going to be a big issue,” says Randy Westergaard of the resort and country club. “If it’s two months, it’ll be a big issue.
“We’ll just have to wait it out, see what the timeline is.”
Several provincial campgrounds in the area remain closed, while two privately run campgrounds — Dickson Leisure Campground and Carefree Resort — declined to discuss the impacts.
“We are being treated very well; they are doing a fantastic job,” says Don Shewchuk, general manager of Carefree Re- sort, which also has a marina with room for 198 boats.
Westergaard agrees, noting the company has been trucking in water for residents already living at the resort. It has also set up the containment booms halfway down the lake to prevent oily debris from reaching the resort’s shoreline.
“Historically, coming into spring, we get a lot of debris coming down the river,” says Westergaard, pointing at the large trees caught up by the boom. He’s hopeful the lake will reopen, even partially, by the time the July r ush starts.
“Unfortunately, Alberta doesn’t have the longest season in the world,” he says. “Tourism has got a very short season.”
Westergaard, who still has 35 lots for sale at the resort, is hoping for a quick remedy to the spill, but understands they can happen.
“When you live in Alberta, it’s inevitable. When you’ve got oil, you’re going to have issues with it,” he adds.
“How many people are able to afford property because they made (money) in oil?”
The irony isn’t lost on Diane Bender. “It’s a catch-22,” she says. “A lot of people in the park are affiliated with oil and gas,” add sher husband, gary. “hopefully it gets cleaned up fast.”
If it’s two weeks, it’s probably not going to be a big issue. If it’s two months, it’ll be a big issue.
RANDY WESTERGAARD