Province to end overnight boat docking at Elkwater marina

By COLLIN GALLANT on March 29, 2023.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant

Cabin owners in Elkwater are ready to oppose plans by the province to end overnight boat mooring in the marina at the lake in the provincial park south of Medicine Hat.

The waterfront at the popular recreation spot is set to undergo major renovations this summer, according to a letter from the Ministry of Environment and Parks received this week by residents of the townsite.

It describes major refurbishment of the launch and breakwater, but states going forward, overnight slips won’t be available because the service is “uneconomically feasible.” They are seeking a potential private operator or community group to manage the service.

Keith Fisher owns a cabin and usually puts his boat in the water each spring, takes it out in the fall, and pays a $700 annual fee to use one of about 45 slips on the marina.

“There’s all kinds of problems with the plan,” he told the News.

To take the boat in and out of the water several times each week, he said, presents a major hassle, and residents’ boats would soon takeover available day parking from visitors, and in practical terms couldn’t be parked on streets.

The Elkwater Community Association is set to discuss the issue at its regular monthly meeting set for Sunday, April 2.

Fisher said he will gather support and signatures for a letter asking the ministry to reconsider the plan, and has already heard opposition to the idea.

Hatter Nelson Hogg also uses the overnight slips, and opposes losing the facility.

“They shouldn’t remove it – it’s obvious,” he told the News.

Alberta Parks states the marina is set to be closed for the entire summer of 2023 as major work takes place, the bidding on which closed March 21.

An alternate boat launch will be available this year at the Fire Rock Campground, while the main site will undergo work to replace lumber with metal and change a wooden break-water with a land berm.

Marina shoreline will be armoured with rock, the rental shop would be moved and a hard launch for canoes, kayaks and paddle boards would be added.

“The overnight marina slips will not be replaced as it was uneconomically feasible to do so,” reads the email from the ministry. “We look forward to engaging with the boating community on a potential leasing opportunity for a privately owned and operated marina that could include overnight slips.”

[Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to properly describe this week’s meeting of the Elkwater Community Association as a regular monthly meeting, not the groups’ annual general meeting, as was originally stated. The group’s AGM is held each year in June.]

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