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.
Most of the world’s drinkable water is contained in freshwater lakes. Although it may seem like the amount of freshwater is small compared to saltwater, and it is, there is still a lot of fresh water in the world. To help you better understand the presence of fresh water in the world, we’re going to look at the 12 largest freshwater lakes in the world. These are the largest bodies of water that are not brackish or saline!
A new channel carrying river water to the lagoon in the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary is expected to revitalize a key wildlife habitat. The southeast park was heavily damaged by the 2013 flood on the Bow River. Since then, there have been cleanups and a rebuilding of the park infrastructure. A study was done to come up with ways to revitalize the area and enhance things like flood and erosion control. The plan included constructing a new channel that carries water from the Bow to the sanctuary's lagoon.
For discharge, spills, and waste, river currents carry these pollutants downstream. While sometimes diluted, the pollutants barely break down and begin to fill banks and sediment. It disrupts river ecosystems and lessens the quality of potable water in the Canadian wilderness. Furthermore, the spills that happen include toxic chemicals that natural processes can’t break down. This results in a complete loss of habitat for many aquatic animals.
About 90% of water samples taken over the last 10 years from the Great Lakes contain microplastic levels that are unsafe for wildlife, a new peer-reviewed paper from the University of Toronto finds. About 20% of those samples are at the highest level of risk, but the study’s authors say the damage can be reversed if the US and Canada quickly act. “Ninety per cent is a lot,” said Eden Hataley, a University of Toronto researcher and study co-author. “We need to answer some basic questions by monitoring … so we can quantify risks to wildlife and humans.”
Pulling a large truck tire from the water, volunteer Derek Evans says he is not sure how long it has been at the bottom of Lake Ontario. It’s filled with zebra mussels and mud, but the rubber has the potential to be a serious issue. "This is at least 50 pounds," Evans says. "It definitely would be a lot of damage to the fish and the wildlife in the water." Getting this tire, and other garbage, is part of a massive project called, 'Kingston Waters Clean Up.' More than 70 divers, kayakers and shorelines volunteers are bagging up garbage to keep it out of the water and drawing awareness to the issue, explains organizer Guillaume Courcy.
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06), co-chair of the Great Lakes Task Force, sent a bipartisan letter with several colleagues to President Biden this week, urging the president to highlight the importance of Canadian investment in our shared Great Lakes resources during his upcoming visit to the country later this month. “The Great Lakes contain one-fifth of the world’s fresh surface water, providing drinking water for more than 30 million Americans and Canadians, supporting a $6 trillion regional economy, and providing habitat for a host of fish and wildlife,” the lawmakers wrote. “Through partnerships between the United States and Canada, sustained investments are critical to clean up toxic Areas of Concern, address the threat of invasive species, restore habitats, reduce harmful algal blooms, and mitigate other threats to the Great Lakes.
As one of the largest and longest-standing conservation organizations in North America that employs more than 400 employees across Canada, this award recognizes DUC’s focus on balancing the needs of its employees with the demands of achieving its vision of healthy wetlands and clean water for waterfowl, wildlife and people.
After buying the farm, by the mid-1970s, Dobson had assembled his own herd of beef cattle. He noticed that the water in the stream that crossed his property was declining in quality and quantity. The banks had eroded and the elm trees nearby had died of Dutch elm disease. He planted a tree buffer along the stream and added solar-powered pumping systems. Some of the trees are now 30 or 40 feet tall. The water is cleaner, which leads to healthier, happier cattle and more wildlife. “Now the banks are more like a sponge,” he says. “If there’s a heavy rain, it goes into the ground, The water is cleansed of nutrients and slowly released.
Some communities, such as Umiujaq, are particularly at risk to be impacted by beaver expansion because of the geography, says Mikhaela Neelin, director of the Nunavik Hunting Fishing Trapping Association. Umiujaq is one of the communities located just north of the treeline — the edge of the habitat where trees are capable of growing. "In the tundra and a lot of regions, they're seeing beavers appear there for the first time," said Neelin, adding that the consequences are a mixed bag.
Throughout the warmer months, Alberta's irrigation networks play a crucial role in the province. They transfer water from rivers and reservoirs, delivering it to rural communities, to farmers and to recreational areas, supporting some wildlife along the way. But along with the water comes the fish. And in the fall, when the irrigation networks shut down, thousands of them become stranded. "It's absolutely a recurring problem," said Lesley Peterson, a Calgary biologist with Trout Unlimited Canada.
This spring, the CBC's Amy Hadley set out to explore climate change's effect on northwestern Ontario for the radio series This Makes It Personal. The series introduces audiences to people who are facing down the impacts of climate change in their daily lives and what they're doing about it: From how a remote First Nation is adapting to changing water and patterns, to wolverines and their changing habitats, and a support group helping people through climate anxiety.
People who live and play along the Gatineau River between Chelsea and Low, Que., say they've been left high and dry after Hydro-Québec lowered water levels. The change was needed to work on the hydroelectric dam in Chelsea — with rocks now emerging from the river like miniature islands. Heather Horak relies on the river for her seasonal home's water and hauls essential supplies using a pontoon boat.
Over the past year, headlines about the environment have been bleak. Floods, droughts and fires have hit our fellow Canadians hard. But the impacts of climate change should not make us feel powerless. Wetlands are a formidable force of nature that has our back. In 2022, they can be Canada’s good news story. When you look at the ways in which people and communities are working together to conserve wetlands across the country, the good news flows like…well, water. As nations around the globe prepare to mark World Wetlands Day on February 2, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) is celebrating some important wins here at home that are making life better for wildlife, people and communities.
The conservation site, called the Mackie Ranch conservation project, includes a large section of native grassland as well as part of the eastern shoreline of Chaplin Lake, a few kilometres off the Trans-Canada Highway between Moose Jaw and Swift Current, according to the NCC. Grasslands are among the most at-risk ecosystems in the world, according to the national conservation organization. They filter water, help prevent flooding as well as droughts and sequester carbon.
Most Saint Johners likely never give Marsh Creek a second thought. The stream winds its way across much of the east side of the city, starting at the far eastern end of city limits, and emptying into Courtenay Bay, a linear distance of about seven kilometres. The creek is a nearly invisible refuge for local wildlife, and few people have ever visited its banks on the marshlands that make up a good portion of east Saint John.
The lack of water in the Bear Creek Reservoir is eye-catching, but the city says there is no immediate risk associated with the lower than usual levels. City of Grande Prairie Development Engineer Michael Harvard says the city keeps the gates of the Muskoseepi Dam during the summer months open to ensure there is enough of a downstream flow. He says one potential issue stemming from the lack of upstream movement deals with the wildlife that calls the waterway home.
The City of Abbotsford is investigating after residents witnessed large pillows of foam floating in a local creek a few days after laundry powder was spread on the rooftops of a nearby townhouse complex. Tom Ulanowski, who has lived at the complex at 4401 Blauson Blvd. on the side of Sumas Mountain for five years, said he's concerned the foam will harm wildlife in and around Clayburn Creek. "I was quite shocked and concerned," he said. "Literally, there were piles of foam eight feet high in some areas."
An independent panel is urging the Yukon government to develop a wetlands policy to protect unique streams, bogs, fens and peatland from mining because there are no known ways to fully restore these sensitive ecosystems once disturbed. Wetlands filter water, provide habitat to species and sequester carbon but are quickly being lost to development worldwide — an issue drawing attention on World Wetlands Day Feb. 2.
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.
A group of Grade 7 students delivered some shocking results to the Region of Queens Municipality council meeting December 22. The South Queens Middle School students had been working on a Social Studies project to test fecal bacteria, or enterococci, levels in the Mersey River. The students found readings of between 230 and 340 enterococci to 100 millilitres of water. Under Health Canada regulations, it is not advisable to swim in water where there is 70 enterococci/100 ml. And at 170 enterococci/100 ml, the water should not touch skin.
