The Coalition to Save Lake Winnipeg and the Silver Harbour Environment Committee are hosting a free public forum on the health of Lake Winnipeg this Saturday in Gimli.
The grassroots groups continue to advocate for government intervention to address ongoing pollution. Lake Winnipeg is the world’s 10th largest freshwater lake and one of the most threatened.
Excessive nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen that are found in municipal wastewater, in raw sewage and in water and snowmelt carried by runoff from agricultural operations are a potent mix, which has led to the eutrophication of the lake, the creation of dead zones where organisms and fish can’t live and the frequent emergence of algal blooms, including toxic cyanobacterial blooms. Human destruction of natural systems such as wetlands and the introduction of invasive species such as zebra mussels have contributed to the stress on the lake.
Several speakers are scheduled to address the problems, including retired University of Winnipeg biologist Dr. Eva Pip, who has written over 100 scientific papers on water, representatives from the Lake Winnipeg Foundation, the Manitoba Eco-Network, the East Interlake Watershed District, the City of Selkirk and the Canada Water Agency.
The coalition said it also invited local, provincial and federal politicians to attend the forum.
The coalition hosted a forum in Winnipeg in November 2019 to address the pollution in the lake and to educate people on how pollutants and human changes to the landscape can destroy the natural ecosystem.
The forum will be held Saturday, Sept. 23 from 1-4 p.m. at the Gimli Recreation Centre on Centennial Road, west of Highway 9.
