Hot Springs run dry

October 18, 2001
Source: Rocky Mountain Outlook

By Cathy Ellis

Therapeutic thermal waters at Banff's historic Upper Hot Springs have run bone dry and are being topped up with tap water.

This is the first time that staff has had to supplement the famous springs with domestic water in the autumn.

"Water flows traditionally slow down in the fall, and they have done so this year. Unfortunately this year it's to a level that on occasion we have to augment with municipal water,'' said Ken Fisher, chief operating officer for the Canadian Rockies Hot Springs.

"We've found people really enjoy the experience that we offer at the Upper Hot Springs, regardless of where the source comes from. It's a hot soak in a magnificent setting and it's still a great experience.''

The Upper Hot Spring, which feeds the public swimming pool on Sulphur Mountain, has run dry for varying periods of time every spring since 1998, but never during the fall before.

Before 1998, the only other documented time the hot springs ran completely dry was for two months in 1923.

Officials are concerned about the trend in water volumes and flow at the Upper Hot Springs, which is one of Banff National Park's premiere tourist attractions. The pools draw about 340,000 visitors a year and generate about $2.3 million annually from concessions and admission fees.

Diverting water from the Kidney Spring to the Upper Hot Springs is an option if the trends in water flow continue. However, that could pose problems for the re- introduction of the rare and endangered Banff Springs Snail.

Captive-bred snails are to be put back into Kidney and Upper Middle Springs as part of a three-phased project to bring the species back from the brink of extinction. The tiny lemon-seed sized snail, a creature found nowhere else in the world, has disappeared from many of its historic locations.

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