In its September newsletter, the Coalition to Save Lake Winnipeg emphasized ongoing threats to the health of Lake Winnipeg, and it’s asking residents to consider where other sources of pollution come from and take action when they suspect breaches of environmental law.
In addition to the City of Winnipeg’s raw sewage spills that occur several times a year and its contribution to nutrient loading (phosphorus and nitrogen) from the North End Water Pollution Control Centre (NEWPCC) and other city wastewater plants, the coalition says there may be other sources responsible for the “sewage plumes,” which commercial fishers and boaters report.
Given the long distance from Winnipeg’s wastewater treatment plants, the time it takes for water to flow northwards through the lake and the time it takes for human feces to degrade, the coalition says local sources of contamination (i.e., wastewater systems around the south basin of the lake) rather than city wastewater plants may be responsible for the plumes and E.coli contamination of beaches.
“In the event a raw sewage plume was encountered near Hecla Island, for example, the notion that it could be attributed to Winnipeg, at the NEWPCC or a spill further upstream some 120 km away, fails the math test by a factor of 2-3 times,” states the coalition in its newsletter.
The cause of the problem is “likely much closer” and can include sewage releases from local septic systems or municipal wastewater systems such as lagoons.
That said, the coalition recognizes the fact that the city’s north end sewage plant is a point source for phosphorus loading in the lake – phosphorus spurs on the development of algae which depletes oxygen – and that the city “routinely” releases untreated sewage into waterways such as the Red and Assiniboine rivers, whose combined flow heads north into Lake Winnipeg.
“Late spring 2024 visible debris and higher [E.coli] counts in Lake Winnipeg were reported. Weather conditions [heavy precipitation] resulting in the failure of the City of Winnipeg’s combined sewage overflow fit the timeline in terms of news events,” states CSLW’s newsletter.
A 15-day raw sewage discharge by the city between Feb. 7 and Feb. 21 was described as “shocking,” “horrific” and “disgusting” by those living in communities along the west shore of the lake’s south basin. A city outfall at 3100 Abinojii Mikanah (formerly called Bishop Grandin) had discharged an estimated 228.39 million litres (or megalitres) of untreated human waste and other hazardous substances into the Red River.
The city’s latest raw sewage spill occurred on Oct. 14 and lasted for just over six hours, according to the city’s webpage on sewage leaks. It resulted in .009 million litres of sewage flowing into the Seine River, a tributary of the Red River. There were four raw sewage discharges in September.
The coalition is made up of Lake Winnipeg south basin communities, individuals, municipalities and cottage associations on both sides of the lake.
The coalition encourages concerned citizens to “support compliant practices” and “report observed violations” of any wastewater management systems (including septic tanks) in their areas to the provincial Environmental Compliance and Enforcement branch in Winnipeg at (204) 794-1176 or email: OWMS@gov.mb.ca (no attachments). They can also contact the branch’s acting director Yvonne Hawryliuk at (204) 945-5305.
Other coalition news:
Given the importance of peat bogs to storing carbon, which when released contributes to the climate crisis, the coalition says residents and cottage owners in the Washow Bay area of Lake Winnipeg have reached out to the coalition with concerns about peat mining in their region and one peat mining operator’s plan to establish a new peat mine at Sugar Creek, in the middle of a wildlife management area.
Washow Bay is on the west side of Lake Winnipeg, just north of Hecla Island, and encompasses Pine Dock, Little Deer, Beaver Creek and other small communities.
“Sungro is submitting environmental act proposals to establish new peat mines, one of which falls within a wildlife management area. Applications for these mines were approved by the provincial government with stricter license conditions, although the conditions have proven to be inadequate to counter the harm to the area currently being experienced,” states the coalition in its newsletter. “We know that peat mines are a major source of carbon capture. The mines have caused huge buildups of peat along the shores of Lake Winnipeg and pollutants are entering the lake, which is no longer captured by the peat bogs.”
To contact the Coalition to Save Lake Winnipeg, email: cslakewinnipeg@gmail.com
