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Lake Winnipeg Watershed Contents:

New Developments

Introduction

Facts

Basins:

-Assiniboine River

-Lake Manitoba

-Lake Winnipeg

-Red River

-Saskatchewan River

-Winnipeg River

Organizations Working to Protect Lake Winnipeg and its Watershed

New Developments

For more resources on Lake Winnipeg and its watershed, please visit our Info Links page


New: The Save Lake Winnipeg Act (Bill 46) Presentations and Submissions to the Legislature
2011. Presentations and written submissions regarding the Save Lake Winnipeg Act (Bill 46) were heard by The Legislative Standing Committee on June 13th and 14th, 2011. The majority of presentations and submissions were in support of the bill; however, some were opposed and others felt the proposed legislation was not strong enough.  The Act passed the third reading and was proclaimed law on June 16th.

View the proceedings at: http://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/hansard/5th-39th/sed_06/sed_06.html

The Save Lake Winnipeg Act amends five existing acts in an effort to reduce the amounts of phosphorous and other nutrients entering Lake Winnipeg.  The act introduces measures to:
•    Conserve wetlands on crown land
•    Expand the hog barn moratorium to all of Manitoba
•    Prohibit winter manure spreading
•    Place a two year moratorium on peat mining
•    Require the preparation of drinking water and wastewater management plans in certain jurisdictions
•    Require the City of Winnipeg to upgrade or replace its North End wastewater treatment plant

View the Act: https://web2.gov.mb.ca/bills/39-5/b046e.php


New: State of Lake Winnipeg Report
2011. the Province of Manitoba and the Government of Canada released the State of Lake Winnipeg report in July, 2011. The report, led by Manitoba Water Stewardship and Environment Canada, is a collaborative effort by many researchers from government, universities, and non-governmental organizations and is the first comprehensive assessment of the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of Lake Winnipeg since intensive lake monitoring began in late 1990s.

The State of Lake Winnipeg report serves as a reference to measure progress towards reducing nutrient loading, will help in the assessment of the overall health of the lake, and also provides key information to support current and future research on Lake Winnipeg. The report is available as both an extended technical report and a highlights report.

New: Dr. Peter Leavitt's Report on the Eutrophication of Lake Winnipeg was  commissioned by the Government of Manitoba, and was released on May 31, 2011. The report, whose complete title is "Sudden ecosystem state change in Lake Winnipeg, Canada, caused by eutrophication arising from crop and livestock production during the 20th century", comments on the current state of the Lake, as documented through Leavitt's comprehensive study, and offers suggestions for significantly reducing phosphorus contributions in order to ensure the survival of the lake. To download the complete report, which is available through Manitoba Water Stewardship Board, go to:
http://www.gov.mb.ca/waterstewardship/water_quality/lake_winnipeg/pdf/report_lake_wpg_paleolimnology_2011.pdf


New: Environment Canada has insufficient data to monitor Lake Winnipeg pollution
(Excerpt from the 2010 Fall Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development)

For more than 30 years, there have been suspicions that nutrient loading from agricultural activities posed a threat to the lake, including its fish and fish habitat. Although Environment Canada monitors water quality on major tributaries that drain into Lake Winnipeg, it did not begin long-term water quality monitoring in Lake Winnipeg until 2006, one year after the Government of Manitoba recommended collaboration with the federal government to address water quality issues in the lake. The Department’s long-term water quality monitoring was inadequate to signal this emerging threat.

Costly remedial measures are now under way to mitigate the problem of excess algae caused by nutrient loading. The March 2007 federal budget committed $7 million to respond to the problem in Lake Winnipeg. An additional $11 million of federal funds has since been allocated for cleaning up the lake, increasing understanding of nutrients in its water, and expanding and improving the network of water monitoring sites in the basin. Through these measures, the federal government aims to reduce blue-green algae levels, restore the ecological integrity of the lake, ensure a sustainable fishery, and reduce beach closures.

The Fresh Water Quality Monitoring program has recently increased its surveillance activities in the Lake Winnipeg basin. However, Environment Canada informed us that it is still in the process of evaluating the water quality monitoring network and that it is too early to know whether the network is capable of monitoring how effective cleanup activities will be in reducing nutrient loading in the lake.  Read More


New: OPEN LETTER TO THE PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT OF MANITOBA
Manitoba's Lakes Need Our Help: Protecting Wetlands and Shorelines is Essential for Maintaining Healthy Lakes

The following is an open letter, sent January 2011, by a group of scientists, environmentalists and community organizers calling on government to order a temporary halt to all new developments affecting wetlands and shorelines until it can develop a rational, consistent policy-founded on sound, scientific principles-to ensure the development is done responsibly and sustainably, without compromising the benefits we receive from natural, healthy shorelines and wetlands. If you would like to become involved in this initiative, please contact Vicki Burns at: vickiburns@mts.net or (204) 489-3852.

"As a province of over 100,000 lakes-including Lakes Winnipeg, Winnipegosis, and Manitoba that rank among the largest on the planet-Manitoba has an abundance of fresh water for which we have a responsibility to be good stewards, for the sake of our present needs and for those of future generations.

The watersheds and shorelines of our lakes are dominated by wetlands which are universally recognized for their rich diversity of plants and animals, and their ecological importance as "nature's kidneys". Wetlands are a natural transition zone between the landscape and water. They are the first and last line of defense for the protection of lake water quality. They intercept a wide range of chemicals, including ones that degrade water quality. Healthy wetlands and intact shorelines can bind up or destroy these chemicals.

Our lake shorelines and coastal wetlands are threatened by numerous factors, including erosion, invasion by exotic species, water level management, and human development. Two recent cases-the construction of a boat channel at Beaconia Marsh and the extensive erosion of altered shorelines on Lakes Winnipeg and Manitoba during windstorms-illustrate the threats to our wetlands and shorelines, and the benefits we lose when they are degraded.

We call on the Government of Manitoba to order a temporary halt to all new developments affecting wetlands and shorelines until it can develop a rational, consistent policy-founded on sound, scientific principles-to ensure the development is done responsibly and sustainably, without compromising the benefits we receive from natural, healthy shorelines and wetlands. And we call on the people of Manitoba to become informed of and to participate actively in the protection of wetlands and natural shorelines, for the benefit of healthy lakes and healthy communities."

Dr. Gordon Goldsborough
University of Manitoba

Vicki Burns
Community Foundations of Canada

Dr. Pascal Badiou
Ducks Unlimited Canada

Bruce Smith
Lake Winnipeg Foundation the

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Introduction

A central feature of our landscape, this body of water is an obvious point from which to begin a discussion of water issues in the province. Fondly dubbed our 'prairie ocean', the lake is home to a stunning variety of aquatic life, a source of water to the creatures that populate its shores and is a major flyway for migrating birds. It is also a place rich in the history of the First Nations People and of the settlers who came later. Today it is held dear as a special place in the hearts of people as a spectacular holiday destination and natural retreat. Add to that its economic role in sustaining the largest freshwater commercial fishery in western Canada and its hydroelectric capacity, and it is easy to recognize its importance to life in Manitoba.

However, the vitality of Lake Winnipeg is in jeopardy. Scientists have alerted us to the fact that the health of this beautiful lake is seriously threatened. Indeed, its current state is comparable to that of Lake Erie in the 1970s. In a complex play of cause and effect these ills include: pollution, invasive species, loss of biodiversity, E.coli contamination, climate change, controlled water levels, erosion, and habitat destruction. And on top of all that there is an over riding threat: the lake is suffering from an overload of nutrients. Satellite images reveal massive blooms of algae covering vast stretches of the north basin and areas farther south. These sickly lime green patterns as seen from space are nothing short of alarming. Eutrophication, as this problem is known, is caused by human activities that result in an excess of phosphorus entering Lake Winnipeg. This phosphorus is generated from a multitude of sources, but comes primarily from municipal and industrial wastewater and intensive agricultural production throughout the watershed.

The Lake Winnipeg watershed (the area of land that drains into the lake) is vast. It covers nearly one million square kilometres, and reaches west to the Rockies, east almost to the Great Lakes and into four states south of the border. Within it are numerous sub-watersheds each draining an area of land into rivers that empty into the lake. What goes on in these smaller watersheds has a direct impact on Lake Winnipeg. Indeed, the consensus among government, academia and environmental groups is that the key to solving the issues facing Lake Winnipeg lies in the sustainable management of its watershed. In other words, the fate of the lake will be determined in the meadows, fields and forests well beyond its shores. With this holistic approach in mind let us take a closer look.

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Facts

*The Red, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg Rivers contribute 70% of the water that flows into Lake Winnipeg.

*The outlet for Lake Winnipeg water is the Nelson River, which flows to Hudson Bay.

*Water in Lake Winnipeg is replaced on average every 3.5 years.

*Lake Winnipeg is the tenth largest body of freshwater in the world, covering almost 25,000 square kilometres.

*Lake Winnipeg is the third largest hydroelectric reservoir in the world, generating $350 to 580 million per year in
export power sales.

*The natural outflow pattern of the lake has been altered (essentially reversed) by storing water in the spring and
early summer for use in the fall and winter for hydroelectric generation.

*The Lake Winnipeg watershed is the second largest in Canada at 953,250 square kilometres, and is home to
5.5 million people and over 20 million livestock.

*Commercial fishing on Lake Winnipeg has an annual landed value approaching $25 million.

*There are three introduced species of fish in Lake Winnipeg: rainbow smelt, common carp and white bass.
The ecological consequences of their presence in the lake are not fully understood.

*Lake Winnipeg species designated "at risk" by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada
(COSEWIC) are the silver chub, bigmouth buffalo, shortjaw cisco and chestnut lamprey.

*Recreation and tourism on Lake Winnipeg generate more than $100 million per year.

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Basins

The Lake Winnipeg Watershed is made up of six distinct river basins. Water flowing into Lake Winnipeg exits via the Nelson River, and eventually enters the ocean at Hudson Bay.  View a map of Manitoba's watersheds here.

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The Assiniboine River Basin

The Assiniboine River basin is approximately 42,000 km2 in size (excluding the Souris and Qu'Appelle river basins) and stretches from its headwaters in eastern Saskatchewan to the Red River at the Forks. Land use in the basin is dominated by agriculture. Manitoba's potato industry, the second largest potato industry in Canada, is heavily reliant on the Assiniboine River during the summer months. In the late 1960's the Shellmouth Dam was constructed on the river to provide downstream flood protection. The reservoir formed by the dam, called Lake of the Prairies, has also been an important supply of water for irrigation, industrial and municipal uses.

Ecological goods and services (EG&S) are benefits that arise from ecological functions of healthy ecosystems. Examples of ecological goods include clean air, clean and abundant fresh water and a diverse and healthy soil. Services include carbon sequestration, erosion control, purification of water and air, water retention and maintenance of biodiversity. In the Assiniboine River watershed, the Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) is an EG&S pilot proposal designed by farmers for farmers. The project aims to conserve and restore Manitoba's valuable natural capital on private lands, while respecting and rewarding the important role that farmers play in environmental management.

Incentives, in the form of a per acre financial payout are available to farmers who want to set aside land to protect wetlands, natural areas, ecologically sensitive lands and to increase the size of buffer zones along streams and rivers. Providing financial incentives are one approach to conserve and protect private environmental assets and can be carried out with existing programs of regulation, environmental farm planning, integrated watershed planning and tax rebates.

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The Lake Manitoba Basin

Excess nutrient loading is a common problem in drainage basins with significant human populations, and the Lake Manitoba watershed is no exception. Livestock production around the lake and inadequate cottage sewage handling are two of the most important sources. A heightened phosphorous-to-nitrogen ratio in certain areas of the lake has lead to blooms of blue-green algae, which pose a variety of threats to the aquatic ecology. Not least among them is the production of microcystin, a toxin that was present in the lake at three times the recommended maximum level in 2001.

In addition to nutrient loading, the artificial control of its water levels is perhaps the most significant detriment to Lake Manitoba's ecology. The lake's marshlands, including the Delta and Netley-Libau marshes, have been given world-class designation. However, they are not as healthy as they used to be. The Fairford dam was constructed in the mid-1950s in response to lake-wide flooding. Artificial control of water levels over the last half-century has had an impact. Stable water levels can have a dramatic effect on marsh ecology.

Marshes require both floods and droughts to thrive. During droughts, seeds grow in exposed mudflats, replenishing and renewing the marsh vegetation. During floods, plants are drowned out of deep sites, preventing overgrowth. The control of water levels since the construction of the Fairford dam has interfered with these natural processes, diminishing the extent and quality of marshlands on the lake. Scientists have also observed declines in the commercial fish populations and the muskrat population since the construction of the dam.

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The Lake Winnipeg Basin

In eastern Manitoba, Lake Winnipeg's watershed encompasses Canadian Shield country that is characterized by dramatic rock outcroppings, magnificent boreal forests and spectacular waterways such as the Winnipeg River. The trees of the boreal forest anchor the soil and absorb rainwater. When these forests are impacted by logging or wildfire, water quality is affected. Once the trees are logged or burned less water is absorbed. It ends up filtering down through the soil, leaching nutrients into streams and rivers. Where soils are shallow and the land is steeply sloped, erosion occus. Both leaching and erosion have the effect of introducing dissolved organic matter and nutrients into the water. Phosphorus is one of these nutrients, and once it makes its way into the lake, it causes an increase in blue-green algae. Other effects of leaching and erosion can be increased turbidity or "muddiness", lower oxygen levels and higher levels of harmful metals such as lead, cadmium and copper.

The Manitoba Model Forest (MMF) has been conducting research on water quality in this area for the past three years. One of their goals is to develop a forest management design that minimizes the negative impact that forestry has on Lake Winnipeg. Next year MMF will be initiating a project to look at the effects of logging on riparian areas from the perspective of water quality, wildlife and vegetation. While it is encouraging that MMF has made water quality and Lake Winnipeg a focus of its work, concerned citizens will be watching with the hope that this body of research leads to regulations on logging activity to promote healthy waterways and a healthy lake.

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The Red River Basin

The Red River basin is a complex watershed characterized by a very flat valley surrounded by relatively steep escarpments to the east and west. This has resulted in numerous spring time flood events over 1000's of years since the last ice age.

According to scientists at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, loadings of phosphorus from the Red River Basin have increased by over 50% in the last 10 years. The largest geographic source of phosphorus to Lake Winnipeg is the Red River basin. The largest anthropogenic source of phosphorus in the Red River basin is derived from the agricultural sector.

Since the early 1970's, phosphorus concentrations have increased by 194% in the La Salle River and 188% in the Seine River, both tributaries of the Red River. Manitoba's "hog alley" is situated mostly in the Seine River watershed, whereby saturated fields with manure can run-off into the surface water after heavy rainfall events and spring run-off.

South of the international border, the North Dakota government is proposing a project similar to the old Garrison Diversion. The Red River Valley Water Supply Project would divert water from the Missouri River across the continental divide into the Red River. This proposed inter-basin transfer of water has major implications for Manitoba's fisheries through the possible introduction of invasive species that can alter the ecology of Lake Winnipeg.

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The Saskatchewan River Basin

Canada has been blessed with relatively abundant supplies of fresh water. This can cause us to take our lakes and rivers for granted. David Schindler, renowned Canadian ecologist and educator, wants to issue a wakeup call. His studies of Canada's lakes and rivers have lead him to some disturbing conclusions about the future of our waterways that have implications for the Saskatchewan River.

Dr. Schindler's research indicates that the prairies face significant water supply issues. He points out that much of Canada's 'plumbing' is located in the north where it is not accessible and that even the water supply we can tap into is dwindling. Climate change will alter precipitation patterns across the prairies, and may lead to regional droughts. Taken in historical perspective, the 20th century was very wet on the prairies. The rainfall levels over the last 100 years can be considered a climatic aberration, and cannot be expected to continue into the future. Furthermore, global warming is causing the ancient glaciers to shrink at an alarming pace. The Saskatchewan Glacier, which is the source of the headwaters of the North Saskatchewan River, receded an astounding 1.5 kilometres between 1924 and 2002. Decreased flows have already been observed in many rivers. Across the land large human withdrawals are further taxing the supply of fresh water.

What are the potential impacts on Lake Winnipeg? Decreased water quantity will affect water quality because it will result in a higher concentration of nutrients. 'Most people worry about doubling the input of nutrients because it will cause more algal blooms, but if you halve the volume of flow it has the same effect.' (Climate and Water Issues in the Athabasca River Basin: Presented by David Schindler) Knowing that the Saskatchewan River contributes a significant amount of the lake's total inflow (about 20%) and knowing that nutrient overloading is a serious threat to Lake Winnipeg, this is an issue we cannot afford to ignore. Water conservation combined with a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions must become priorities.

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The Winnipeg River Basin

The Winnipeg River drainage basin is the most significant of Lake Winnipeg's sub-basins, contributing 45% of total inflow, 25% of nitrogen loading, and 12% of phosphorous loading. In turn, the Lake of the Woods sub-basin, straddling the border between Ontario and Minnesota, is the most important of the Winnipeg River's drainage areas, contributing half of its flow.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) recently completed a multi-year assessment of the nutrient and algae conditions on the Lake of the Woods. The results of the assessment may lead to the MPCA adding the lake to its draft list of "impaired" waters. Similarly, on the Canadian side of the border, the occurrence of algal blooms on the lake has lead the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation to initiate a nutrient budget study of the lake.

In addition to agricultural runoff, cottage development is among the suspected sources of Lake of the Woods' nutrient loading. One of the adverse impacts of nutrient loading is the production of toxic microcystin by the blue-green algae present in the lake in elevated numbers. Last summer it was found that microcystin was present in the lake at levels that posed a high risk for recreational use.

Mercury contamination is also a concern on Lake of the Woods. The heavy metal naturally occurs in the bedrock beneath the lake. However, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency reports that most mercury entering lakes in the region comes from the atmosphere, as air-borne emissions from coal-fired power plants, mining sites, and manufacturing facilities. In light of the elevated levels of mercury found in fish in Lake of the Woods, The Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish recommends limits on the size and number of fish consumed for a number of species. More stringent limits are recommended for children and women of childbearing age.

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Organizations working to protect Lake Winnipeg and its watershed

- Lake Winnipeg Stewardship Board: http://www.lakewinnipeg.org

- Lake Winnipeg Research Consortium: http://www.lakewinnipegresearch.org

- Lake Winnipeg Foundation: http://www.lakewinnipegfoundation.org

- Manitoba Water Stewardship: http://www.gov.mb.ca/waterstewardship

- Red River Basin Commission: http://www.redriverbasincommission.org

- Prairie Provinces Water Board: http://www.ppwb.ca

- Partners for the Saskatchewan River Basin: http://www.saskriverbasin.ca

- Manitoba Conservation Districts Association: http://www.mcda.ca

- The International Institute of Sustainable Development's Water Innovation Centre: http://www.iisd.org/wic

- Its Lake Friendly: http://www.lakefriendly.ca/

- Ducks Unlimited Canada: http://www.ducks.ca/

- Eastern Beaches Conservation Coalition: http://www.ebconservation.ca/

- Manitoba Wildlands: http://www.manitobawildlands.org/

- The Interfaith Taskforce on Northern Hydro Development: http://energyjustice.mcc.org/about/coalition

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