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TAKE ACTION
Environment
2023
December 2023 - Wastewater Issue
December 2023
A letter from the Lake Winnipeg Foundation to Fred Veldink.
"..................................
Date: Mon, Nov 27, 2023 at 1:10 PM
Subject: Provincial mandate to protect Lake Winnipeg, plus
more!
To: Fred Veldink <fredveldink@gmail.com>
Dear Fred,
The election of a new provincial government is an opportunity to reset
Manitoba’s policy priorities for Lake Winnipeg. In this e-update you’ll find
information about our latest provincial advocacy efforts – and how you can get
involved – plus highlights from some of the other activities we’ve been focused
on over the past few months.
Thank you for supporting our shared vision of a
clean, healthy Lake Winnipeg, now and for future generations.
Provincial mandate letters mark government’s commitment to
protecting Lake Winnipeg
In late October, Premier Wab Kinew issued mandate letters to provincial
cabinet ministers.
Environment and Climate Change Minister Tracy Schmidt has been directed to
“work with experts and scientists to protect Lake Winnipeg and safeguard the
health of all our waterways.”
Minister Lisa Naylor, who leads the departments of Transportation and
Infrastructure, as well as Consumer Protection and Government Services, was
asked to “work with other levels of government to get the upgrades to the North
End Water Pollution Control Centre done.”
It’s encouraging to see the protection of Lake Winnipeg identified as a
key commitment of Manitoba’s new government. As an immediate next step, we are
re-iterating our call for accelerated phosphorus compliance at Winnipeg’s
largest sewage treatment plant.
We invite you to join us in this advocacy. Visit our
website for more information and a template you can use to send a message to
Manitoba’s political leaders.
Take Action !
Another successful water-sampling season
The Lake Winnipeg Community-Based Monitoring Network (LWCBMN) has
officially wrapped up its eighth field season!
This year, water samples were collected from March to October from 130
sites located throughout the Red and Assiniboine River watersheds. Over the
coming months, these samples will be analyzed in a lab to measure phosphorus
concentration, enabling us to calculate the amount of phosphorus being exported
off the landscape and into the waterways that flow into Lake Winnipeg.
By identifying phosphorus hotspots, LWCBMN is
generating the water-quality data needed to direct research, inform policy and
focus action. Thank you to the many citizen volunteers and watershed partners
whose efforts make this work possible!
Read Claire's Reflection!
Top Five Takeaways from the 2023 Black Leadership in Social Impact
Summit
LWF Program Coordinator Claire Harvey recently had
the opportunity to connect with Black changemakers across the country as part
of a two-day virtual summit on Black leadership and social impact. She learned
so much, she decided to share her Top Five Takeaways!
Read Our Newsletter
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to the health of our shared waters.
Sincerely,
The LWF team
............................................................"
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Following is newsletter from Coalition Lake Winnipeg pertinent to the upcoming election:
"September 2023.......(in PDF Format)
Coalition of Lake Winnipeg - Questions to Party Leaders re Lake Winnipeg
From: Coalition Lake Winnipeg < cslakewinnipeg@gmail.com>
Date: Sun., May 14, 2023, 05:46
Subject: Updates re: Letters and Newsletter
To: Environment Committee
Good Morning,
Attached
you will find the May Newsletter, a letter to Minister Guilbeault and a
letter to Minister Klein and Councillor Mayes. The letters are
scheduled to be sent tomorrow morning, May 15th and the
Newsletter Monday, May 15th in the evening.
Thanks
to Lori Jean who helped significantly in both the writing and
brainstorming. Thanks to Gordon for editing. The
information was also reviewed by Marlo at LWF. Rod,
thanks for sending the photo. Unfortunately it wouldn't open
on my computer.
Hope all is well with everyone.
Lynnette
Following is information in pdf format:
Minister Guilbeault letter
Minister Klein and Councillor May Letters
May 2023 Newsletter
2022
December, 2022
The Lake Winnipeg Foundation "Fall and Winter Report" has been published. Click here to review the document.
September, 2022
"The Coalition to Save Lake Winnipeg, of which we are the founding members, has an update on developments regarding the
North End Winnipeg Water Pollution Control Centre." Click here to review document
In addition we have prepared a list of questions regarding the Health of Lake Winnipeg that voters might want to ask candidates
in the upcoming Municipal Election." Click here to review document
Fred
Click here to review document
June, 2022 newsletter from the Coalition to Save Lake Winnipeg
Environment Committee
The SHPOA Environment Committee is an advocate group for sustainable behaviours to optimize the natural enjoyment of the Silver Harbour Community today and into the future.
Further,
we are members of the Lake Winnipeg Foundation and active participants
in the Coalition to Save Lake Winnipeg (CSLW), contributing toward the
collective effort to improve the health of Lake Winnipeg and its’ tributaries.
Calls to Action
Concerned Citizens to Connect with All Levels of Government
to
Work Together to Save Lake Winnipeg
The
following Call to Action provides updates and contact information for
our concerned citizens to engage with elected officials.
Please share this with others in your community.
Dear Sir or Madam:
The purpose of this letter- call to action
- is to raise concerns through an email letter to
your political representatives (city, provincial, federal)
regarding the status of the health of Lake Winnipeg and the
supporting river systems. Today, the Coalition to Save Lake Winnipeg (CSLW) is reaching out to you for your support.
As an introduction - the Coalition to
Save Lake Winnipeg is a grass roots organization comprising of
associations/organizations, various stakeholders, and Selkirk ( to name
a few - RM Gimli, Victoria Beach, RM Alexander, Fishers.
Recreational Users, etc) in the south Basin of Lake Winnipeg.
This coalition works closely with the Lake Winnipeg Foundation and
other notable provincial organizations. The prime objective of the
coalition is to inform the general population on issues facing our
lakes and waterways and to engage with our political representatives to
pursue the objective of water quality.
The Coalition has identified a number
of important issues that affect the health of Lake
Winnipeg, but there are two points that stand out, such as:
- The seeming lack of progress in
addressing the need to reduce nutrients from the North End Water
Pollution Control Centre (NEWPACC) to meet the licensing and
other
requirements and provisions of the Provincial Environment Act and Water
Protection Act. The high levels of phosphorous emissions from our
treatment plants is a major contributor to algae blooms seen in Lake
Winnipeg.
- NEWPCC
cannot handle current water volumes, and has not been able to support
volumes for the past many years due primarily to inadequate
maintenance procedures and a lack of proper funding. You only have to
look at the recent Wolseley affair and another dumping of raw
sewage and effluent at the St. Charles station into the Assiniboine -
this is routine with no fixes in sight. For example, in 2018 the City
of Edmonton dumped 1.5 million cubic metres of raw sewage into the
North Saskatchewan river (equivalent of 634 Olympic size pools); after
spending 200 million dollars on treatment upgrades they reduced their
effluent levels to 52,000 cubic metres (equivalent to 21 Olympic
size pools) - by comparison the city of Winnipeg (smaller
population) dumped the equivalent of 2300 Olympic size pools into our
river systems (an Olympic size pool holds 2,500,000 litres or 550,000
imperial gallons) Source - Toronto Star and Edmonton
Journal.
What is
required is an immediate action plan and proper funding to modernize
our water treatment facilities with the goal of
addressing the constant effluent leaks and high levels of
phosphorous emissions . These objectives can only be achieved through
the coordinated efforts of our three levels of government - city,
provincial, and federal.
To help expedite the process of
modernization of our water treatment facilities we are urging all
residents to contact their local political representatives whether it
be a city councillor, or an MLA, or an MP or all three indicating
your concern on the state of affairs regarding Lake Winnipeg and our
river systems. We simply cannot continue with the current state
of our water and sewage infrastructure system that is
broken .We cannot continue to kick these problems down the road -
these issues need to be resolved now.
Please feel free to use the information
provided in this letter in your communication to your elected
officials. And please note that it is not necessary to write volumes of
text, a simple paragraph will suffice.
We cannot stress enough, the value and
importance of sending these letters. Please share this email with your
friends, family and other community members to encourage them to write.
Thank you in advance for making time to do this.
Fred Veldink
Environment Committee Chair
There is a list of city councillors, applicable MLA's and MP's.
City of Winnipeg
Members Manitoba Legislature
Federal Government MPs
Municipal Mayor/Reeve's on the Shores of Lake Winnipeg
For more Rural Municipality Information contact - Manitoba Rural Municipality Information pages 31-58
Coalition
to Save Lake Winnipeg (CSLW): http://macoman.com/lake-winnipeg
Information and Reporting Links
Who to Call:
Dead Animals on Roads: Manitoba Department of Highways at 204-945-8955Dead Animals on Private Property: Manitoba Department of Conservation and Climate at 204-642-6070Litter/carcass on the Beach: RM of Gimli Public Works Department at 204-642-6688Report a Poacher: Manitoba Department of Conservation and Climate at 1-800-782-0076
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