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A biologist’s report says Lac Beauchamp, a popular Gati-neau swimming hole, is now three metres deep, only half as deep as it was 10 years ago.
But, as it turns out, the case of the incredible disappearing lake is not so mysterious.
Its sudden lack of depth has a lot to do with the fact that each July for the past five years, the city has dumped 40 truckloads of sand on the beach for a sandsculpting contest.
The biologist’s report, released in December, says the lake is rapidly filling with sand from the Merveilles de Sable sand sculpture festival.
Gatineau councillor Aurele Desjardins said Gatineau will try to reduce the amount of sand that enters the lake, instead of moving the festival or closing the beach.
“The lake isn’t becoming shallower just because Les Merveilles de Sable is there,” said Mr. Desjardins.
He said said Gatineau began bringing sand to Lac Beau-champ about 35 years ago. Before the sandsculpting festival began, 15 loads of sand were dumped at the lake each year to maintain the beach.
“We are planning to invest almost $1 million to build walls between the beach and the parking lot next summer so water from the parking lot doesn’t make all the sand go into the lake,” he said.
The investment will also include replacing the beach’s public washrooms.
Mr. Desjardins said another study is needed this summer to determine whether the city should remove the sand from the lake bottom or leave it there.
He said dredging the lake could disturb the aquatic environment.
Meanwhile, the shallower water could have consequences.
Ghislain Ladouceur, the Fondex Outaouais consultant who did the study, said yesterday that shallower water and high summer temperatures could increase the risk of a parasite causing “swimmer’s itch.”
Swimmer’s itch larvae—which are invisible to the naked eye—penetrate the skin and then die. Soon after, small red spots appear on the skin, which swell up and begin to itch intensely over the next few hours.
The rash isn’t contagious and generally disappears within a week or two, with no lasting effects.
One case of swimmer’s itch was reported at the lake during the last year.
Mr. Ladouceur said the bird droppings and snails needed to transmit the parasite are present in the lake, but another study is needed to determine whether lake water quality is deteriorating.
“Swimmer’s itch parasites are transmitted by birds, especially ducks,” Mr. Ladouceur said. “The ducks infect the water and after that, the parasites enter snails and get back into the water.
“Sometimes when swimmers go into water where there are a lot of parasites, the larvae try to get into human skin. They just die there and cause a lot of discomfort for swimmers.”
Mr. Ladouceur said more parasites, weeds and algae could appear in the lake if it becomes shallower and warmer each summer.
Mr. Ladouceur said the city commissioned the study in October and November to determine whether the quality of water in the lake would remain good.
Mathieu Laroque, a spokesman for Gatineau Mayor Marc Bureau, said the city has been monitoring the lake carefully for years.
City officials check the water regularly and close the beach to swimmers one to three times each summer if the coliform bacteria count is higher than Quebec provincial norms.
About five years ago, the city started pumping air into the lake during the summer to make the water cleaner.
Thousands of people visit Lac Beauchamp and a surrounding 200-hectare park off Maloney Boulevard East to swim each summer and skate and cross-country ski during the winter.