The land occupied by Pelly’s Lake has been drained many times in the past in order to achieve better hay production, and more pasture. So far, all attempts at this have failed and the land is filled with cattails and other undesirable species of plants. The landowners involved have an idea to create a backflood system to model that of the Ducks Unlimited project at Lizard Lake which offers multiple benefits such as: reduced spring flooding, increased hay production, and downstream reservoir recharge.
The Pelly’s Lake Management Board has been established to oversee the planning and design of the project. The PLMB is made up of representatives of the landowners involved, the RM of Victoria, the Cypress River Sub-District, and the La Salle Redboine Conservation District.
This project satisfies many of the desired management options under our Stephenfield Lake WMP including detaining and managing run-off to alleviate flooding, improving wetland health, providing fish and wildlife habitat, and increasing water quantity by becoming a reliable source of water supply to recharge downstream reservoirs.