Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
The International Joint Commission, a body that manages water rights along the US-Canada border, has confirmed its IT security was targeted, after a ransomware gang claimed it stole 80 GB of data from the organization. "The International Joint Commission has experienced a cybersecurity incident, and we are working with relevant organizations to investigate and resolve the situation," a spokesperson for the org told The Register.
To continue improving water quality in the Red River basin, including downstream in Lake Winnipeg, the governments of Canada and the United States approved four additional water quality objectives to be monitored by the International Red River Watershed Board (IRRWB) following a recommendation by the International Joint Commission (IJC). These additional, non-regulatory water quality objectives are for the key nutrients phosphorus and nitrogen.
A joint letter from meeting participants, and putting sustained pressure on the International Joint Commission (IJC) to have it address low water levels in Lake St. Lawrence. Those were two of the approaches bandied about earlier this week at an Impacts to Lake St. Lawrence meeting held at South Stormont council chambers in Long Sault. “We need to sustain pressure,” said Frank Hummel, representing the Moulinette Island Residents’ Association at the gathering. “One letter may move (the IJC) but I doubt it. We need to map out a plan for (the rest of) 2022, 2023, and 2024. How are we going to keep our voice in the backside of the IJC?”
Water pollution in the Kootenay watershed has six Ktunaxa Nation governments and several U.S. federal agencies calling on Canada to take part in a submission to the International Joint Commission (IJC). Ktunaxa Nation officials said Nasuʔkins (Chiefs) and council members from every local Ktunaxa government met to discuss the issue on June 7 in Bonners Ferry, Idaho.
On today’s date in 1972, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and U.S. President Richard Nixon began a two-day visit in Ottawa, where they would sign the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The agreement was inspired by recommendations from the International Joint Commission (IJC), which reported excessive levels of phosphorus in the Great Lakes before concluding pollution was happening on both sides of the border.
Joint Canada-U.S. regulators of Lake Ontario water levels say they are monitoring ice-cover conditions to ensure proper outflows from the Moses Saunders Dam into the St. Lawrence River. Outflows from Lake Ontario are higher than usual for this time of the year, said regulators. International Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River Board said, “although flows have been reduced, the outflows remain relatively high compared to the historical record. The average Lake Ontario outflow for January 2022 is currently the fourth highest on record since 1900 (following 2020, 2021, and 1987), and the January mean Lake Ontario level is the 15th highest on record since 1918.”
Plan 2014, which the International Joint Commission (IJC) uses to manage water levels and flows in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River is currently under review, however, any major changes to the plan are still a long way off. Criticism of the plan prompted an expedited review which began in early 2020. Wendy Leger of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Adaptive Management (GLAM) Committee, which is carrying out the review, says the first phase of the review is scheduled to be completed by the end of October. Leger made the comments in a recent IJC webinar.
After a 3 1/2 year study, the International Souris River Study Board has released its draft report and recommendations for public comment. The report, “Managing Water Supply and Flood Control in the Souris River Basin,” recommends potential reservoir operation options to improve flood control and water supply. The International Joint Commission (IJC) established the Study Board in 2017 in response to a request by both the Canadian and United States governments. This request was precipitated by the flood in the Souris River basin in 2011.
The International Joint Commission (IJC) held a public meeting on Tuesday, June 15 to discuss water levels in Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River. The IJC is a bi-national governing body comprised of representatives of Canada and the United States (US) which manages the water levels of Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River. IJC U.S. Secretary Bryce Carmichael told the audience of the virtual meeting that the organization was dealing with drought conditions throughout the region this season.
U.S. Senator Jon Tester is calling on the U.S. State Department to get involved in the ongoing effort to stem the flow of pollution from Canadian mines to waterways in Northwest Montana. In a letter, Tester urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to request a referral to the International Joint Commission (IJC) concerning the selenium contamination issue in the Kootenai watershed in Montana, and for the State Department to engage with the Canadian government and the IJC to resolve this critical transboundary water quality issue.
