Portage la Prairie City Council will once again be discussing the future of Crescent Lake, as they meet tomorrow evening at City Hall. Councillor Melissa Draycott says they'll be awarding water quality contracts, and awarding the tender for consulting services to look at the future development of the Lake. Draycott says they're moving this process forward with two key aspects in mind.

"We're definitely looking at the environment on everything we consider going forward with in Portage because environmental issues are super important to us. However, we're also looking at things like tourism, recreation, and quality of life for people in the city."

The lake's future has been a hot topic over the last two years, beginning when council decided to explore the option of allowing motorized watercraft on the body of water. Draycott says while keeping the environment in mind, they also want to promote one of Portage's most iconic landmarks.

"Crescent Lake is one of those gems that we have, lots of people don't know about it, so we'd like to present it to more communities around the area and have it something people are aware of and that they can utilize. Going forward this summer, because there have been some new things that have happened around Crescent Lake, we'd like to remind people that if you're on the lake, please be safe."

Draycott's referring to the discovery the City had no jurisdiction over the use of boats on the lake. While researching how to allow boats on Crescent Lake, the City discovered the federal government, not the municipal government, could put restrictions in place. While it technically means any boats can use the lake, councillors has been advising potential boaters to use common sense.