| Community
Watches over Health of Whitemouth River
Local involvement in a water monitoring project funded under the Covering New Ground
program in eastern Manitoba is enhancing the environmental awareness of urban residents
and farmers in that part of the province.
For two years, the locally-based Whitemouth-Reynolds Soil and Water Conservation
District has regularly collected water samples from the Whitemouth River at various points
as the river passes through recreational and agricultural land in eastern Manitoba. With
the help of Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives staff, the district collected the samples 13
times last year and shipped them to a lab for analysis of 12 water quality indicators. The
district then made the river quality data available to the community.
David Young, conservation district board member, stressed that involving the community
in monitoring the health of the river is the project's key benefit. "This project has
raised everyone's interest and awareness in the Whitemouth River's health. Farmers
routinely ask about the readings. The Manitoba Recreational Canoeing Association uses the
river for canoeing and kayaking and has published river quality measurements in their
newsletter.
"Having hard data also puts people's minds at ease. It's important to establish a
baseline for the quality of the river to see if it changes, especially with the expansion
of livestock operations," added Young. "Past water issues in Canada have
heightened Canadians' anxieties about water quality."
"The water was analyzed for 12 water quality indicators, including E-coli
bacteria, phosphorus and nitrogen levels," said Brent Reid of Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives. "The monitoring sites were set up at four locations, with the most upstream
location being south of the Trans-Canada Highway, before the river enters the main
agricultural and recreational area."
The data provides several snapshots of the quality of the Whitemouth River at the
sampling times. Quality has been good in both years including samples from collection
points downstream of intensive agricultural areas. E-coli levels have been well below 200
per millilitre as required in quality guidelines for surface water,
Nutrient levels, although slightly higher at the north end of the river than upstream,
remain within the water quality guidelines for phosphorus and nitrogen. Nonetheless, Young
cautions that continued vigilance is necessary, since, at times, phosphate levels reached
the level considered the maximum guideline. Many Manitoba rivers exceed this guideline
naturally.
"Overall, I'm pleased with the amount of interest in clean water, especially from
area farmers," said Young. "My impression is that every beef or hog farmer in
the area is concerned about clean water. Involving them and the rest of the community in
taking the pulse of the river is the way to a clean environment."
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This is the 26th in a series of news releases on agricultural sustainability produced
by Covering New Ground, a program that funds local projects to help find economical
solutions to environmental challenges in Manitoba's agricultural community. |
