Research finds pollutants in Lake Diefenbaker
Harmful chemical pollution is entering Lake Diefenbaker through sewage, agricultural runoff and fish farms, but another cause stands above all these — Alberta.
That’s one early observation by researchers with the University of Saskatchewan’s Global Institute for Water Security.
“This is creating severe problems. It’s not looking like a sustainable situation,” institute director Howard Wheater said.
Wheater and the institute’s multi-disciplinary team have received $800,000 from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to expand their studies of Lake Diefenbaker and other parts of the Saskatchewan River.
Sustaining three million people, as well as countless industrial and agricultural operations, the 1,392-kilometre long Saskatchewan River system has been labelled “Canada’s most threatened river,” according to the World Wildlife Fund.
One of the major threats to water health is the chemical phosphorous. This nutrient, contained in animal waste, fertilizers, detergents and countless other products, causes problems when released into waterways. It’s thought to be the cause of the massive algae blooms poisoning Lake Winnipeg, Lake Erie and others.
In the past two years alone, “thousands of tonnes” of phosphorous have flowed into Saskatchewan from neighbouring Alberta, said Wheater, the Canada excellence research chair in water security.
“That’s a major load,” Wheater said.
Even more troubling, most of the phosphorous stops and settles when it reaches Lake Diefenbaker. Researchers were surprised to discover that 90 per cent of the phosphorous which enters Lake Diefenbaker remains there, Wheater said.
Alberta has guidelines for phosphorous discharge levels but these are “regularly ignored,” Wheater said. Saskatchewan has rules limiting the amount of phosphorous it sends to Manitoba and other jurisdictions, but Alberta does not. Phosphorous from Calgary and from southern Alberta’s intensive agricultural operations and other locations travels eastward into Saskatchewan.
Over time, if current trends continue, that could have severe consequences.
“We could expect a toxic, green lake. It could kill animals and fish and cause problems with treatment,” Wheater said.
Thankfully, there are ways to decrease phosphorous contamination, he said.
“These are serious challenges, but there is a lot we can do to mitigate the problem,” he said.
Smart technology to target more efficient fertilizer applications, improved sewage treatment or better buffer strips between farmland and waterways can all help. Saskatchewan residents must also stop taking water for granted, he said. Pollution, as well as the decreased flows caused by climate change and excessive withdrawals, could mean an end to unlimited amounts of clean water.
As for Alberta, policymakers should consider tighter regulations on phosphorous discharge or incentives for businesses or municipalities to implement changes, he said. The two provinces must work together, as water and pollution do not adhere to provincial or national borders.
A 2012 Saskatchewan government report on the state of Lake Diefenbaker agreed, noting 98 per cent of all water flowing into Lake Diefenbaker originates in Alberta.
“The flow of water does not stop at political boundaries and the action or change in resource use in one location has the potential to influence the health within another area of the watershed,” stated the report by the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency.
According to the report, none of the rivers which feed into Lake Diefenbaker earned a “healthy” designation. The Bow, Oldman and Red Deer Rivers in Alberta, as well as the Swift Current Creek and South Saskatchewan River were all given the label “stressed.”
It notes there is a “knowledge gap” in research on Lake Diefenbaker’s health, and that the U of S research will help.
Wheater said he hopes their work will improve the health of Canadian waterways, and it’s also been a big boost for U of S researchers. The project is pat of a larger global effort.
“It’s an important vehicle to pull people together across disciplines. This is putting us on the international map,” he said.