Education from elementary to post-secondary is available in Watson Lake. Johnson Elementary School has a capacity of 300, and Watson Lake Secondary School has a capacity of 250. Like all Yukon schools, the core curriculum (80%) follows the British Columbia Ministry of Education curriculum, and students are eligible to write B.C. departmental exams.
Yukon College has a campus in a separate wing of the secondary school. The Campus provides the community with courses in academic upgrading, computer skills and first aid. It is a resource for information on student financial aid, and other colleges and universities. It also provides job-related training in the areas of entry-level trades, office administration, accounting, and early childhood education. It has a computer lab with approximately 20 computers and dedicated Internet access. The campus is used as a meeting place for many groups and organizations and is equipped with video-conferencing capabilities.
Health care is provided through the Parhelion Medical Clinic and the Watson Lake Hospital. The clinic is staffed with three full-time physicians and boasts a pharmacy to serve residents. The hospital has a full-time Nurse in Charge and seven nurses. Public Health services are run out of the hospital: two full-time nurses provide service to Watson Lake, Upper Liard, and Lower Post. The hospital is also responsible for the homecare nurse, who works closely with the local seniors group.
The community has a registered massage therapist. Optometry services are provided on a regular basis from Whitehorse.
Watson Lake has a visiting dentist from Whitehorse who operates out of an office located in the community's strip mall.
Local trained volunteers provide ambulance service, while the RCMP provides policing for the community from the detachment. It is staffed with nine members and is responsible for Watson Lake, Lower Post, Upper Liard, and the surrounding area.
A full-time fire chief and a large group of volunteer members provide fire department services.
Yukon Electrical Company provides the community with electricity generated from a diesel generating plant located on the Campbell Highway. A project to utilize the waste heat to heat the secondary school, swimming pool and new recreation complex was completed in 2000. Plans to extend this project to include local businesses are being explored.
Other community social services include two full-time social workers, a probation officer, a full-time resident counsellor from Yukon Family Services, and a shelter for women and children. A part-time Housing Association person is responsible for Yukon Housing. Native courtworker services are provided through the Liard First Nation.
Watson Lake Outreach is a community-based employment resource centre. Its mandate is to increase overall employability and eventual employment by offering employment-related services. The focus is on non-job-ready clients. It attempts to direct job-ready clients towards Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.
Territorial Agent services are provided through the Yukon Liquor Corporation facilities in Watson Lake. These services include providing information and forms, accepting various applications, and issuing licences and permits.
The community has an excellent resource in the form of the Healthy Communities building located in the Old Log Church on the Alaska Highway. It not only acts as a resource but is also the centre for the Prenatal Nutrition program and the Children at Risk program.
A new post office building, which houses the courtroom and other government agencies was completed in 2001. Mail is trucked in five days a week from either Whitehorse or Dawson Creek.
Road access is by all-weather paved highway, with Watson Lake located at the junction of the Alaska Highway (connecting to Whitehorse and to Dawson Creek and Edmonton). The Robert Campbell Highway (connecting to the Northwest Territories) is an all weather gravel highway. The junction of the Stewart/Cassiar Highway with the Alaska Highway is 26 km from Watson Lake.
An airport is located 13 km north of the community on the Robert Campbell Highway. It has a runway capable of supporting a 737 aircraft. The airport building has been recognized by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. Static displays depicting aviation in the southeast region will open in 2004. A charter fixed-wing and helicopter company are based in the community, offering passenger, freight, and courier services. A float-plane base is also located at the north end of Watson Lake (the lake) near the airport.
Watson Lake has many small retail outlets that provide services to the community. Two grocery stores and two department stores service it. A hardware store also supplies building materials. A strip mall along the Alaska Highway houses a women's clothing store, catalogue sales outlet, and an electronics outlet, as well as the local bank. There are five service stations, and two local companies supply heating oil. Propane is transported from Whitehorse. During the summer, seven hotels and motels are open; one of them closes during the winter. There are seven restaurants and fast-food establishments, six of which remain open year-round.
