Manitoba rivers fail pollution tests: data

Manitoba rivers fail pollution tests: data
But province says crackdowns will cut numbers
Winnipeg Free Press
Thursday December 6 2007
By Mary Agnes Welch

THE water in more than half of the province's major rivers regularly fails pollution tests, according to new data from Environment Canada to be released today.
But the data dates back to 2005, and the province's water experts say a series of crackdowns on sewage dumping, farm run-off and leaky septic fields will soon shrink the number of dirty lakes and rivers in Manitoba.
In fact, the province's water czar. Dwight Williamson, predicted that in five to seven years, Manitobans will see a dramatic improvement in the river ratings.
The study, called the Canadian Environment Sustainability Indicators (CESI), scores each river on a 100-point scale and then rates them between poor and excellent. It's done nationwide by Environment Canada and provincial conservation offices.
Of the 40 rivers tested in Manitoba, eight were marginal and 17 were fair (Ed.: INCLUDING THE SEINE RIVER), meaning they routinely failed water quality tests that looked for toxins or nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen that cause blue-green algae to bloom on Lake Winnipeg, choking aquatic life.
Key rivers that drain into Lake Winnipeg -- the Red and Assiniboine -- rated the worst. But their ratings were nowhere close to that of the dirtiest river in Canada -- the Don River through Toronto, which scored only 38 points out of 100.
Just one Manitoba river rated excellent -- the short Waterhen River located in a pristine area at the northern tip of Lake Manitoba.
Williamson, the director of the province's water science and management branch, estimated the number of marginal rivers will shrink by half in the next several years as new rules and regulations kick in. Those include the ban on dishwasher soap with phosphates and costly repairs and upgrades to municipal sewage treatment plants like the ones in Winnipeg.
Williamson also noted there are already four or five rivers rated fair that are just on the cusp of being bumped up to "good." Williamson predicted about half the rivers rated fair will show dramatic improvement over the next several CESI studies.
Water Stewardship Minister Christine Melnick said Manitoba's results are on par with the rest of Canada. Manitoba has slightly fewer rivers that rate poor or marginal, fewer ones that rate "excellent" but many more in the middle of the pack with a "fair" grade.
"We're doing OK compared to the rest of the pack, but we've got to do better and the rest of Canada has to do better," said Melnick.
But Glen Koroluk, the water expert at Manitoba Eco-Network, says the province doesn't test rigorously enough and water problems are serious in Manitoba, which is the catch basin for a huge area of the continent.
"Why aren't more of our rivers in the top two standards -- good and excellent?" wondered Koroluk. "It sounds like we've got a lot of work to do."

maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca

River watch

THE water quality index grades most major rivers in Canada out of a possible score of 100. Scientists look at about 345 rivers and water bodies across Canada, checking for nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen, metals like lead and mercury and organic compounds like pesticides. The latest data is based on testing done between 2003 and 2005.
Assiniboine R. at Headingley 50.7 Marginal
Assiniboine R. upstream of Portage 53.9 Marginal
Assiniboine R. downstream of Portage 54.9 Marginal
Red River upstream of Winnipeg 58.2 Marginal
Red River downstream of Winnipeg 62.2 Marginal
Pembina River at Windygates 60.1 Marginal
Red River at Emerson 59.8 Marginal
Souris River Near Westhope N.D. 49.7 Marginal
La Salle R.downstream of
La Barriere Park dam 65.0 Fair
Souris River near Treesbank 65.5 Fair
Assiniboine River northwest of Treesbank 67 Fair
Assiniboine River at Brandon 67.7 Fair
Swan River near Lensewood 68.5 Fair
Saskatchewan R. above the Carrot River 73.4 Fair
Boyne River at Carman 72.1 Fair
Roseau River near Dominion City 72.2 Fair
Seine River south of Winnipeg 73.7 Fair
Cooks Creek at Springfield and
St. Clements boundary 74.1 Fair
Vermilion River north of Dauphin 74.8 Fair
Rat River at Otterburne 75.2 Fair
Edwards Creek south of Dauphin 78.2 Fair
Brokenhead River near Scanterbury 78.9 Fair
Whitemud River at Westbourne 79.3 Fair
Burntwood River at Thompson 79.4 Fair
Woody River northeast of Swan River 79.6 Fair
Ochre River near Ochre River Community 80.5 Good
Split Lake near Split Lake Community 81.6 Good
Valley River north of Dauphin 82 Good
Little Saskatchewan River 83 Good
North Duck River at Cowan 84.1 Good
Boggy Creek downstream of Lake Irwin 86.2 Good
Mossy River near Winnipegosis 87 Good
Turtle River at Ste. Rose du Lac 87 Good
Sipewesk Lake near outlet to Nelson River 87.1 Good
Playgreen Lake at Norway House 89.2 Good
Cross Lake upstream of
Cross Lake Community 90.1 Good
South Indian Lake near
South Indian Lake Community 90.3 Good
Footprint Lake near Nelson House Community 91 Good
Winnipeg River at Pointe du Bois 91.1 Good
Waterhen River at Waterhen 96.1 Excellent
- Source: Environment Canada and Manitoba Water Stewardship

What the ratings mean:
Excellent (95 to 100) - Water quality measurements never or very rarely exceed water quality guidelines.
Good (80 to 94.9) - Measurements rarely exceed water quality guidelines and usually by a narrow margin.
Fair (65 to 79.9) - Measurements sometimes exceed water quality guidelines and possibly by a wide margin.
Marginal (45 to 64.9) - Measurements often exceed water quality guidelines and/or by a considerable margin.
Poor (0 to 44.9) - Measurements usually exceed water quality guidelines and/or by a considerable margin.