Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

freshwater ecosystems

Destructive freshwater Zebra mussels officially found in Atlantic Canada

Destructive freshwater Zebra mussels officially found in Atlantic Canada

Zebra mussels, an invasive species that kills native mussels and chokes drinking water systems, have been discovered in the Saint John River in New Brunswick, the farthest east in Canada they've been positively identified. Fisheries and Oceans Canada said last week in a release that environmental DNA tests over the summer had detected the presence of the small Eurasian freshwater mussels with the telltale striped pattern in parts of the river as far apart as Edmundston, Grand Falls and Nackawic, communities that span more than 200 kilometres.

Federal 2023 budget important step for fresh water: WWF-Canada

Federal 2023 budget important step for fresh water: WWF-Canada

WWF-Canada welcomes important investments in the 2023 federal budget to maintain momentum toward protecting and restoring 30 per cent of land and waters by 2030, including a new Canada Water Agency; monitoring, assessing and restoring key freshwater ecosystems; protection of endangered whales and their habitats; and ongoing support for species at risk.

Road Salt Pollution Levels Deemed Safe in U.S. and Canada May Not Protect Freshwater Ecosystems Enough

Road Salt Pollution Levels Deemed Safe in U.S. and Canada May Not Protect Freshwater Ecosystems Enough

Using salt to clear icy roads may be an effective winter safety measure, but excess salty meltwater can wreak havoc on freshwater ecosystems and drinking water resources. In a new study, researchers show current water quality guidelines in North America and Europe are not enough to prevent dangerous levels of salinization. The findings were published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

RESEARCH FINDS SALTING ROADS IMPACTS DRINKING WATER

RESEARCH FINDS SALTING ROADS IMPACTS DRINKING WATER

William Hintz, an assistant professor in the University of Toledo’s Department of Environmental Sciences, recently researched the deicing salt Americans use for roads and its relation to the survival of freshwater ecosystems. The findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. According to the research, the buildup of salt (especially in freshwater ecosystems), which come from humans’ agricultural and mining activities, deicing salt operations, and more, impacts freshwater systems, reported Inverse News. Humans are dependent on freshwater ecosystems for drinking water. The Great Lakes on the Canada-U.S. border provide drinking water for more than 40 million Americans, reported Inverse News.

News Release - Government guidelines across North America, Europe fail to protect lakes from salt pollution human activities, including de-icing in winter

News Release - Government guidelines across North America, Europe fail to protect lakes from salt pollution human activities, including de-icing in winter

The salinity of freshwater ecosystems caused by road de-icing salts, agriculture fertilizers, mining operations and climate change is increasing worldwide and current water quality guidelines don’t do enough to address the issue, an international study led by Queen’s University and The University of Toledo has found. The research, conducted in collaboration with dozens of scientists across North America and Europe, shows significant damage is being done to freshwater lakes by salt concentrations that are below ranges government regulators have deemed safe and protective of freshwater organisms.

Plastic Impact: Canada launches multi-year study of microplastics in water and soil

Plastic Impact: Canada launches multi-year study of microplastics in water and soil

A four-year research project looking into the impact of microplastics on freshwater ecosystems and on agricultural soils will have important implications for the Great Lakes, said its principal researcher. Funded by the Canadian government, the $1-million project was announced in May. It will measure microplastic levels in wastewater from treatment plants draining into Ontario rivers and streams that feed into the Great Lakes. Plants differ in their approach to treating wastewater, and so the team of university, government and private researchers hopes to better understand which treatments are best able to deal with microplastics.

A TALE OF THREE WATERSHEDS: WHAT WE KNOW — AND DON’T KNOW — ABOUT THE HEALTH OF CANADA’S FRESHWATER

A TALE OF THREE WATERSHEDS: WHAT WE KNOW — AND DON’T KNOW — ABOUT THE HEALTH OF CANADA’S FRESHWATER

Canada is famously home to 20 percent of the world’s freshwater — but how well are we stewarding this supply? WWF-Canada recently reassessed the health of our country’s 25 watersheds to better understand how they’re responding to threats from pollution, habitat loss and climate change. Our 2020 Watershed Reports found that 26 per cent of Canadas’s 167 sub-watersheds received a score of Good or Very Good, which is good or very good news! But what’s bad, or possibly very bad, is that nearly 60 per cent of these sub-watersheds received no score at all because they remain Data Deficient. In other words, we just don’t know. This lack of data is concerning as we need a complete picture to determine which areas need dedicated efforts to protect our freshwater ecosystems.

Follow us