Cleaning up lake Winnipeg

Joanna Bhaskarah

Friday, Nov. 23 saw the gathering of around 80 people from government agencies, environmental organizations, farmers, and interested citizens at Smart Park for a discussion on the dreaded “P- word”— not the words your mother washed your mouth out with for using — but phosphorous, a chemical used extensively in agriculture that has caused a lot of Lake Winnipeg’s woes.

Don Flaten, professor of soil sciences at the University of Manitoba and one of the keynote speakers, stressed that although phosphorous pollution has recently been in the news, it’s not a new problem. As early as 1817 the La Salle River, one of the tributaries of Lake Winnipeg, got its name from the French word “sale,” or dirty, and recently the river has seen almost a 200 per cent increase in phosphorus concentration.

“Even low concentrations of phosphorous can cause eutrophication, or algae slicks, to form,” Flaten explained. Eutrophication is an accumulation of excess nutrients (including phosphorus) that causes an overgrowth of algae, which in turn reduces the dissolved oxygen content of the water. Problems that accompany the eyesore of the excess algae include the death of fish and other organisms due to the oxygen depletion. The algae can also release nerve and liver toxins.

Flaten explained that phosphorous can come from many different sources: a third comes from cities and towns due to sewage disposal and industry, another third comes from farming as phosphorous is an important element of livestock feed and fertilizers, and Mother Nature contributes a third in the form of soil phosphorous, which is washed away into rivers.

“Most of the benefit management practices in place in Manitoba to control this problem, however, have been found to be zero-effective or counter-productive,” said Flaten. He called for more research focused on soil erosion and source management of phosphorous because these are the main ways that phosphorous enters our watersheds.

He urged for a potluck of contribution from the Manitoba government, land and water stewardships, local conservation agencies and landowners, federal government agencies, NGOs, and universities to counter this growing crisis. “Each of us is a significant contribution to the problem and we can all greatly contribute to the solution,” said Flaten

David Rolfe, president of Keystone Agricultural Products, believes that if benchmarks had been in place 25 years ago, then we would notice an improvement in the management of phosphorous today.

Great changes have already been made in fertilizer application management plans and awareness and action is also increasing, with agriculturalists having spent over $40 million last year on research, according to Rolfe.

“We need to show more appreciation for the farmers who are pooling resources to find a solution to this problem,” said Rolfe.

Still, more reference points are needed and risks need to be identified to set targets that are achievable and economically sound. “Why spend millions when we can’t see results?” Rolfe asked on behalf of the agriculturalists.

There have also been many instances of new improvements being held up by governmental red tape, a new development in agriculture: low-phytate barley, which is used as livestock feed and results in manure that contains less phosphorous, has not been yet approved for use.

The agricultural sector currently needs technical support in the form of good research, attainable goals and financial support. “There’s a tremendous amount of work we can do and we should continue to encourage farmers in the process,” concluded Rolfe.

One of the attendees came up with some food for thought: “Why don’t we just eat less? With obesity rates rising, farmers should increase the cost of their food and produce less.”

Moderator Laura Rance responded that “This P-word gives rise to a whole new set of P-words: profit, poverty, pollution, problems, and politics.” Rance, editor of the Manitoba Co-operator and columnist for the Winnipeg Free Press, urged everyone to help make decisions that set the stage for the future.

The federal government has contributed $11 million more into the Lake Winnipeg project for research and pollution monitoring earlier this month.

Lake Winnipeg is the 10th largest freshwater lake in the world. It has become more important because of the Kyoto Protocol, as it is the third-largest storage reservoir in the world and a production site for hydroelectric energy.