Fall 2010

THE WATERSHED OBSERVER

Lake Winnipeg Foundation's 2010 Walk for Water Inside this issue: A very appreciative THANK YOU goes out to during, and after the event are varied. President’s Report 2 all those who participated in the fourth an- …thank you for preparing letters, ap- Red Zone II Forum 3 Current Achievements 4 nual Walk for Water events at Grindstone proaching sponsors, donating door Future Goals 5 Provincial Park, Matlock and Victoria Beach. prizes, putting up posters and roadside Walkathon coverage (cont’d) 6 Thank you to the 110 plus participants, who signs, carrying tables and equipment, Walkathon coverage (cont’d) 7 walked, ran, swam, biked, baked, played marshalling the event, registering the Photo Contest 2010 8 tennis, collected dona- participants, We are thrilled to announce a grand Walkathon Other Walkathon Activities 10 tions and pledges to deciphering total of $42,727.30 was raised over the summer MacRae Family Activities 11 support the projects the pledge thanks to the combined efforts of many committed Manitoba Hydro Kit 11 of the Lake Winnipeg forms, man- individuals and businesses. Reading Material Guide 12 Foundation. ning tables, The Garburator 13 feeding the Thank you to more than 30 volunteers who hordes, and handwriting hundreds of Membership Application 14 donated their time and energy to make the envelopes and tax receipts. One per- More Walkathon photos 14 event so enjoyable and successful. You are son in particular needs mention, and Storm Aftermath photos 15 too numerous to list, but your hard work that is John Heppenstall, who went and dedication behind the scenes and on above and beyond to ensure our 2010 the front lines were greatly appreciated. The numerous tasks in preparation for, (Continued on page 6)

Page 2 The Watershed Observer

President’s Report

Thank you volunteers! It has often been stated On November in this column how important the role that our 5th I, along volunteers play is to the ongoing progress and with our VP success of our organization. It is especially obvi- Karin Boyd ous after a busy summer and fall just how de- and Secretary pendent we are on our volunteers. Catherine Thanks to Salki, at- tended a Lake  all those that worked on and sang on our Winnipeg Ba- Winnipeg Beach Parade float – sorry we all sin Sympo- got so wet in the downpour but we did win sium hosted the award for Best Overall Float. by Selkirk-  all those that worked on putting together our Interlake sponsorship of two films at the Gimli Film Member of Festival. Parliament, James Bezan.  all those that worked on the Walkathon and It was encour- its spinoff activities. aging to see the projects that are underway un-  all those that made presentations to various der the Lake Winnipeg community groups and elected officials. Basin Initiative (LWBI). All of the projects that were highlighted will in some way lead to  those that are working on ongoing and nutrient loading reduction. upcoming projects like our Red Zone II Forum, and many other public presentations Although it was not on the original program, the and activities. flooding situation caused by the extreme weather was discussed at some length. Many Remember, everyone in this organization is a valid points were raised but there certainly was volunteer – including the members of the Board no consensus on the best methods to protect of Directors. We can always use more help. If against further damage from the lake. you would like to get more involved in the Lake Winnipeg Foundation, send me an email at: The Lake Winnipeg Foundation is preparing a [email protected]. proposal for submission to the LWBI program for a survey of the marshes around the South The lake has gotten more widespread attention Basin. than usual in recent months. The extensive and long-lasting algae blooms in mid-summer made Our Red Zone II Public Forum is coming up on far more people aware of the extent of the November 30 and is being held in conjunction excess nutrient problem. The wild weather of with The Winnipeg Foundation and the late October with its extensive shoreline dam- International Institute for Sustainable age and flooding has given us all a renewed re- Development. Look for details elsewhere in this spect for the power of high water driven by issue. I hope to see you there! extraordinary winds. Bruce Smith

President Fall 2010 Page 3

RED ZONE II PUBLIC FORUM TO BE HELD AT IMAX THEATRE

In conjunction with the Lake Winnipeg Basin Summit being organized by the Water Innovation Centre, of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, The Lake Winnipeg Foundation Inc. will host Red Zone II at IMAX Theatre Portage Place, Winnipeg Tuesday, November 30, 2010 Program at 7 PM Admission is free

The evening will begin with the film premiere of “Choking Lake Winnipeg” by Jim Byrne jointly presented by Winnipeg Foundation and Lake Winnipeg Foundation Inc. FORUM will begin following the film. Forum Moderator: The Hon. Gary Filmon Forum panelists include: Dr. Gordon Goldsborough Dr. Ray Hesslein Dr. Bob Sandford Dr. Tom Simpson Dr. Hank Venema

Red Zone II and the Lake Winnipeg Basin Summit will discuss a range of watershed issues and management options for consideration in any plan to improve Lake Winnipeg water quality.

Page 4 The Watershed Observer

Current Achievements and Future Goals of the Lake Winnipeg Foundation

The Lake Winnipeg Foundation recently passed the  Provided funding for elementary and high school five-year mark since its inception. We put together student environmental field trips to LWRC research this list of our major achievements for the first five ship, Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre, and years and our goals for the next five years. Progress is Fort Whyte Nature Centre underway on several of the future goals listed below.  Provided speakers and presentations to various 1. LWF Achievements 2005 to 2010 community groups  Organized and co-hosted with the University of Lake Winnipeg and Watershed Research Winnipeg Red Zone, a free public forum to highlight  Provided funding to two provincial Conservation issues affecting the lake and its watershed Districts for benthic invertebrate studies  Organizing and hosting Red Zone II, a free public  Provided funding for the Village of Dunnottar forum in November 2010, in collaboration with IISD sewage lagoon passive filtration system Lake Winnipeg Basin 2010 Summit. development  Provided funding to Canadian Water Innovation Lab  Provided funding for an aerial reconnaissance of 2010 to develop new leaders with creative solutions Lake Winnipeg South Basin to establish current state to our complex water resource management prob- of shorelines and adjacent wetlands/marshes lems  Provided funding for analyses of Lake Winnipeg Funding Partnerships North Basin core to assess historical ecosystem  In conjunction with nine other Foundations, change provided funding for Lake Winnipeg Research  Funding for Edie Creek Retention Basin Project for Consortium research vessel operation flood peak attenuation  In conjunction with Thomas Sill Foundation, provided Education and Public Awareness funding for a Peak Phosphorus study by Diane  Provided classroom instruction and demonstrations Malley, PhD on Lake Winnipeg issues to Grades 4 - 6 students  In conjunction with other private agencies and gov- ernment, provided funding in support of Ecole St. Avila bioretention rain garden project Advocacy  Consulted with communities and conservation groups requesting input on various issues  Met with government to raise issues on behalf of the Lake and watershed  Provided letters of support or comments on various issues such as the nutrient position taken by the City of Winnipeg and wetland policy development

Photo by Judy Wilson

(Continued on page 5) Fall 2010 Page 5

2. LWF Goals 2010 to 2015 Bacteria, Nutrient, and Contaminant Loading Reduction Organization Functions and Programs  Work with partners such as the Red River  Strengthen LWF image as the primary grassroots Basin Commission to improve upland water source of information on Lake Winnipeg and its water- storage to attenuate flood peaks shed, by continually improving and updating informa-  Work with partners to restore natural stream tion and communication links with our membership drainage and to promote ground water and the public, via website, newsletter, on-line recharging discussion forum  Develop urban rain  Work with Wildsight (LLN storage techniques Lake Windermere, Canada) (rain barrels, rain to organize and develop the gardens) to reduce Living Lakes Network Canada impervious surface (LLNC) by enlisting new runoff causing sew- members for this national age spills into rivers water stewardship network and streams that  Communicate and coordi- flow into Lake nate with other ENGOs Winnipeg within the Lake Winnipeg Ongoing Projects watershed and across Canada to pursue standard-  Continue support ized ecosystem monitoring of existing research procedures and best land projects (benthic and water stewardship Photo by Sandy Millen invertebrates and practices advocated by LLNC Namao research ship)  Establish a Lake Chapala – Lake Winnipeg sister-lake  Continue existing education and public partnership similar to the Lakes Windermere sister- awareness programs lake arrangement  Organize continuing, consecutive Annual  Maintain good governance and financial stability for “Red Zone” free public forums to seek out Lake Winnipeg Foundation Inc. solutions to the problems faced by the Lake Lake and Watershed Biodiversity Protection and its watershed Advocacy  Work with partners to protect and rehabilitate at least one Lake Winnipeg shoreline marsh threatened by cot-  Continue to advocate for the health and tage/urban development sustainability of Lake Winnipeg and its water-  Work with partners to restore natural wetland habitats shed with government departments and the (previously drained farmland, marginal lands, marshes) public and/or develop constructed wetlands  Continue to work towards establishment of  Work with other LLNC grassroots partners and govern- protected areas ment agencies to organize and implement an invasive species monitoring network

See you at the Red Zone II forum!

Details on page 3. Page 6 The Watershed Observer

Walkathon (con’t from page 1)

Walk For Water was a huge success! A loud and boisterous cheer goes out to over 735 generous donors who offered financial support to our participants. Thanks to your generosity our ongoing projects will continue and we can fund new initiatives that will help the lake on its road to recovery. We are thrilled to announce a GRAND WALKATHON TOTAL of $42,727.30 was raised over the summer thanks to the combined efforts of many committed Kathy Bain with daughters Meaghan and Ella, and a friend. individuals and businesses. We will continue to follow our goals of supporting scientific WALKATHON FRIENDS $100-$250 research, education and public awareness, and advocacy at all levels of government for best Algal Taxonomy and Ecology Inc., Winnipeg, MB policies and practices that will help to restore and Arlington Auto Body Ltd. , Winnipeg, MB maintain the health of our great Lake Winnipeg. Ateah Realty Ltd., Victoria Beach, MB Back Street Hair Studio (Debbie Krocker) We are especially grateful to our Corporate Winnipeg Beach, MB Sponsors and our Walkathon 'Friends' for their Boardwalk Restaurant & Patio, continuing support:Resource Links Winnipeg Beach, MB GOLD SPONSOR $2500 CIBC, Gimli Branch, MB Johnston Group DMD Electrical, Traverse Bay, MB A. R. Morrish Eddie’s Gravel Supply Ltd., Winnipeg Beach, MB Quintex Services Focus Chiropractic Centre, Winnipeg, MB Hillside Power Products Ltd., Traverse Bay, MB SILVER SPONSOR $1000 L & B Systems Group Inc., Winnipeg, MB Securex Financial Corp., Calgary, AB Lakeland Golf Properties Inc. (Links at the Lake), Tech-Air Ltd., Winnipeg, MB Winnipeg, MB Western Steel and Tube Lakeside Surveillance, Victoria Beach, MB BRONZE SPONSOR $500 Mid-Town Ford Sales Ltd., Winnipeg, MB Moar’s Plumbing, Matlock, MB Artistic Impressions Photography, Winnipeg, MB Poplar Pier Health Launch, Winnipeg Beach, MB Carol & Wilfred & Carolyn Brock, Winnipeg, MB Salki Consultants Inc. , Winnipeg, MB Richard and Joyce Brownscombe, Winnipeg Solleveld Building Group, Winnipeg, MB Perry Edwards, Toronto, ON T/A BIGGAR IDEAS, St. Adolphe, MB David Filmon, Winnipeg, MB Victoria Beach Grocery & General Store, Gimli Credit Union, Winnipeg Beach, MB Victoria Beach Peter Schuster, Winnipeg, MB Gord Ahrens, Whistler, BC Red River Cooperative Ltd., Winnipeg, MB Fall 2010 Page 7

Heather Anderson, Winnipeg, MB Roz Anderson, Stone Mountain, GA Cheryl Bailey, Gimli, MB Donald G. Baizley, Winnipeg, MB John D. Beaton, Winnipeg, MB Julian Benson, Winnipeg, MB Guy Bernuy, Winnipeg, MB Leslie Bezte, Anola, MB Peter Bjornson, Gimli, MB Jamie Boyd, Winnipeg, MB Karen Boyd, Winnipeg, MB Ed Braun, Grindstone Park, MB Doug Buss, Winnipeg, MB Graham Cameron, Winnipeg, MB Jane Campbell, Grindstone Park, MB Robert Campbell & Joan Halas, Ponemah, MB Eleanor MacDougall, Winnipeg, MB Ella Carmichael, Victoria Beach, MB D. McDonald, Winnipeg, MB Arthur Chipman, Winnipeg, MB Diane McGifford, Winnipeg, MB Greg Daniels, Winnipeg, MB William H. McGillivray, Saskatoon, SK James G. Edmond, Winnipeg, MB Frank Manning, Scarsdale, NY Bruce Eyford, Winnipeg, MB Mike Manning, Penticton, BC Jackie Florizone, Victoria Beach, L & R Marsdale, Perth, ON MB Moulsdale Family, Matlock, MB Jean Friesen, Winnipeg, MB William G. Percy, Winnipeg, MB Rick Gamble, Dunnottar, MB Don Peters, Winnipeg, MB Barry & Katherine Gibson, John S. Pollard, Winnipeg, MB Matlock, MB Susan Pollard, Winnipeg, MB Kirby Gilman, Winnipeg, MB Mike Sampson, Winnipeg, MB Lila Goodspeed, Winnipeg, MB Bob Sandburg, Winnipeg, MB Lisa Hastings, Winnipeg, MB Kai Schioler, Winnipeg, MB K. Hearson, Headingly, MB Bruce Smith, Ponemah, MB L to R: Andrea Vincent, Barry Gibson and John Heppenstall, Winnipeg, MB John D. Stefaniuk, Winnipeg, MB Barb Morris at the half-way Brad Houghton, Winnipeg, MB water station, Matlock Melanie & Mark Tooley, Winnipeg, MB Janis Hughes, Winnipeg, MB Vickers Family , North Vancouver, BC Geraldine Izon on behalf of the Morris Family Paul Walsh, Winnipeg, MB Elsie Jackson, Winnipeg, MB Whytewold Emporium, Whytewold, MB Laureen Johnstone, Winnipeg, MB Don Winstone, Whytewold, MB R. W. Langdon, Dallas, TX Diana Young, Winnipeg, MB Wayne Leslie, Winnipeg, MB

Greg Loader, Winnipeg, MB More Waltkathon pictures on page 14. Alison Loch, Winnipeg, MB Page 8 The Watershed Observer Page 8

Grand Prize Winner Over 30 entries were received for the 2010 photo contest. Judges commented on how difficult the task was to choose a winner in each category. All photo entries remain the property of the Lake Winnipeg Foundation. Thank you to all who entered! ~ The Editor

Category: Weather Photo by Marj Birley “Lake Winnipeg storm swamps the pier at Victoria Beach”

Category: Recreation Photo by Mike Eggett “Solitude”

Category: Summer Scapes Photo by Marj Birley “Labs romp in Lake Winnipeg Breakers”

Fall 2010 Page 9

Reserve Grand Prize Winner

Category: Wildlife Photo by Sandy Millen Category: Weather Photo by Mike Eggett “Pelican” “Summer Storm”

Category: Sunrise/Sunset Photo by Mavis Whicker “Unique Victoria Beach Sunset” Category: Winter Scapes Photo by Mike Eggett “Spring Thaw”

Thank you to the judges: Blake Forbes, Buck Hothi, Bruce Talbot, Susan Talbot, Camille Sochaski and Dana Sochaski

Page 10 The Watershed Observer

Riggs and Billie Jean Put on a Show for Lake Winnipeg Foundation

In support of the Lake Winnipeg Foundation, an exhibition tennis match took place on Saturday, August 7, 2010 at the Victoria Beach tennis court. The challengers, Lisa Lucht and John Heppenstall, modeled this match after the infamous Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King affair and the pre-game odds- matchers had this one as a toss-up. The crowd was thick with anticipation as Bob- bie “Hep” Riggs stepped into the court in a fighting robe and greeted them with a few Rocky Balboa comments. As the warm up started, Riggs took off his robe only to reveal a well fitting pink dress, matched by a pretty bonnet. Lisa wore a cutting edge tennis outfit and took the best dressed award. Once the match began, it was all business

John ‘Bobbie Riggs’ Heppenstall as the two competitors gave it their all to secure the win. In the end, Hep Lisa ‘Billie Jean’ Lucht outlasted a determined Lisa Lucht in straight sets. The big winner was the Lake Winnipeg Foundation, with total pledges for the event exceeding $5,500.

Connaught Beach 800 Metre Swim for Lake Winnipeg

Throughout the first week in August, 2010 the algae was thick and green at Victoria Beach focusing everyone’s attention on the challenges facing Lake Winnipeg. Ella Carmichael, an avid Masters swimmer, planned an 800 metre swim as her Lake- a-Thon activity to support the Lake Winnipeg Foundation’s “walk for water” event. Incredibly, in the afternoon of August 7th the water cleared and the wind dropped for a couple of hours allowing for the swim to proceed, parallel to Connaught Beach on the north - west side of the Victoria Janet Sampson and Ella Carmichael Beach peninsula. Sponsored by family and friends Ella, age 86, easily com- pleted the course and raised over $400.00 for the Lake Winnipeg Foundation.

Many other swimmers expressed interest in joining Ella next year to repeat and expand this alternative activity to raise funds for Lake Winnipeg Foundation projects. Fall 2010 Page 11

MacRae Family Walkathon Activities Inspires!

For the seven days up to and including the key date of or front handsprings in the water according Aug. 8, 2010 the family engaged in these activities: to a 3-Front, 3-Back, Repeat pattern, coming  Avonne Trainor (grandma) read at least one book out of the water only for a bathroom break – per day; the longest, Ken Follett’s Pillars of the audaciously claimed (and rewarded) as a Earth, at 973 densely packed pages, constituting a further “clean-our-lake” promotion. marathon day in itself; the shortest, Margaret At- SPONSORED AT 25¢ per flip = $25.00 wood’s Penelopaid at 196 loosely-gathered pages Plus estimated bonus for extra flips = $5.00 being a mere bagatelle! Plus bonus for promotional interruption = $5.00 SPONSORED AT $2 per book = $14.00 TOTAL = $35.00 (The sponsored reader claims that another year she’ll  Elly MacRae wavered between a shriek-a- insist on sponsorship by the page…ouch) thon in the water and a marathon Justin  Pat MacRae chose to attempt a bake-a-thon, bak- Bieber promotional speech in the cottage. ing at least one batch of cookies, muffins, pie or Sponsors desperately stepped up on the cake per day, persisting in her fiery goal even as a condition that she cease and desist from heat wave descended! both attempts. For the sake of the lake, she SPONSORED AT $1 per recipe plus 2 day bonus for did. heat wave baking = $11.00 SPONSORED AT $100.00 to STOP = $100.00 On the key date of Aug. 8, 2010:  Sam MacRae was absent from the beach,  Murray MacRae completed a trail bike-a-thon of 1 but claims a “work-a-thon” for a 6-hour hour at the Lester and Grand Beach trails. shift. Amidst general boos, sponsors ac- SPONSORED AT $20 per hour = $20.00 cepted this effort (albeit at only $1 per hour) And a golf-a-thon of 18 holes at Grand Pines in lieu of having to ask what other unsuper- SPONSORED AT $1 per hole = $18.00 vised marathon activities were more inter- (Regrettably the HUGE hole in one bonus was not esting that day… collected) SPONSORED at $1 per hour = $6.00 TOTAL = $38.00 FAMILY GRAND TOTAL = $204.00  Anna MacRae completed a flip-a-thon at Connaught Beach, turning well over 100 back and/

Manitoba Hydro’s Free Water And Energy Saver Kit

As part of the Watersmart water conservation your door six weeks program, Manitoba Hydro has a terrific offer to later, entirely free of help Manitoba home owners and renters use charge. You can’t miss this precious resource more wisely: Contact Hy- out on this! dro at www.eco-fill.com/mbhydro. All you need Less water consumed to do is live in Manitoba, choose which specific is more water items are best for your household and place conserved; that’s good your order. Included in this free offer are one or for the planet and two energy-efficient massage showerheads, a good for the water-saving bathroom tap aerator, a water- watershed. saving swivel kitchen aerator and three metres of hot water foam pipe insulation. It comes to

Photo by Sandy Millen Page 12 The Watershed Observer

A Layperson’s Guide to Reading Material on Lake Winnipeg

If you’ve ever struggled through reading material on ment plan tailored to their particular circumstances of land lake issues, here’s a guide for the non-scientist that is and water. Areas of concern may include water manage- tailored to the particular circumstances of Lake Winni- ment practices, planting shelter belts, riverbank remedia- peg. tion and education. Glossary of terms: Eutrophication — the symptoms that Lake Winnipeg ex- hibits in response to fertilization with nutrients polluting it Algal Blooms — excessive nutrients cause excessive through its watershed. This in turn stimulates the over- algal growth which then form floating clumps that move with the currents and deposit on the shore. Blue production of algae (among other negative side-effects). -green algae is the most toxic culprit but it’s all stinky Greywater — domestic wastewater other than from the and gross and there’s way too much of it for the lake toilet. to be healthy. Hydrological Cycle — is the path of water through the atmosphere mainly as rain and snow on the prairies, reaching the earth as pre- cipitation, on to surface or ground storage and then up to the air through evaporation. Glacial melt, agricultural practices and climate change are some of the factors impacting the hydro- logical cycle around the Lake Winnipeg water- shed. Hydrology — a branch of geology that studies the traits of water on earth and in the atmos- phere, as well as its distribution and conserva- tion. Isostatic Rebound — astonishingly, the lake is slowly tipping south ever so slightly as the land around it lifts in response to diminishing pres- sure of former glacial Lake Agassiz.

Blue green algae at Victoria Beach, summer 2010. Lake Friendly — products certified under Photo by Marj Birley federal standards to contain no elements harmful to the lake. They are identified with a brightly- Anoxia — depleted oxygen levels; in the case of Lake coloured blue and yellow logo and are available in stores Winnipeg, its ‘dead zones’ where the decay of exces- large and small around the lake. Look for more products sive algae has used up the available oxygen so other and retailers soon. aquatic life forms cannot survive there. Limnology — the study of inland waters. Aquifer — a zone of water retention way below the surface of the land. This groundwater may drain into a Nitrogen-Fixing Algae — plants that can pull this essential river or lake, it may bubble up as an artesian spring or element directly from water or air. The toxic cyanobacteria it may be pumped mechanically to the surface. It is in blue-green algae are successful in part because they can essential to protect and never to squander the waters do this. of our aquifers. Non-point Source — undesirable material enters Lake Conservation Districts — partnerships among Rural Winnipeg throughout its massive watershed, from munici- Municipalities and towns within a watershed. CDs ad- pal wastewater, agriculture and industry, rather than from minister, co-operatively, a natural resource manage- one identifiable culprit such as a massive smelter, which

Fall 2010 Page 13

would be considered a point source. This makes clean-up Riparian — the zone of interface between land and a river; the more challenging. riverbank. Deep-rooted indigenous plants hold the soil and filter sediment and nutrients. Peak Phosphorus — Peak Phosphorus - Phosphorus is an element essential to all living things on earth. "Peak Phospho- Watershed — we have named the Lake Winnipeg Foundation rus" refers to the maximum rate of phosphorus production publication The Watershed Observer because our watershed is that worldwide mining of that element can achieve. As exist- so important. Covering a million square kilometers in four prov- ing mines are depleted production must fall unless new depos- inces and four states, the watershed is home to eight million its are found; we have not been able to find large new depos- people and 20 million livestock. From within the watershed, all its of high-grade phosphorus ores and so future production the water from countless rivers and streams are emptied into will turn increasingly to lower-grade ores with higher costs of Lake Winnipeg, bringing with them both the waters and the load processing. Phosphorus is one of the three key ingredients in they carry. agricultural fertilizers, the other two being nitrogen and potas- Wetlands — coastal marshes, potholes and yes, even swamps, sium, and most phosphorus is used to produce fertilizers. With which act as transition zones between uplands and the rivers growing populations of people and domestic animals, demand and lakes. Teeming in biodiversity, wetlands act as ‘nature’s kid- for phosphorus will grow but our mines will be less and less neys’ by filtering and storing the pollutants and excessive nutri- able to meet that growing demand. Consequently it will be- ents that are not good for the waterways. Lake Winnipeg Foun- come increasingly important to use only those amounts of dation has taken a strong stand in valuing Manitoba’s wetlands phosphorus we really need and to recover and recycle the as a primary defense against degradation of the lake. phosphorus in waste products. Sheila Grover

Consider the Garburator

A classic Seinfeld moment in television comes when All doom and gloom? Not all. Some jurisdictions, such Kramer decides to install a garburator in his shower as the town site of Banff, recover the organics into fer- drain so he can save water by peeling his vegetables tilizer products, or it may be used for the as he showers. It's brilliant comedy, of course, but production of methane energy. However, the cities of not so positive for water conservation or for the en- Ottawa and Guelph have banned the use and new in- vironment as a whole. Garburators are a product of stallation of garburators. the post-war infatuation with domestic technology Keep that compost pail by your sink with pride. The but we should consider ourselves out of the earth will thank you and so will your yard and garden. Madmen era and look at the present day situation. When you use a garburator to wash down your or- ganic kitchen waste, here’s what happens: the water has to run the whole time the blades are grinding, which wastes a lot of water. Between 40% and 60% of the material that then enters the waste stream is organic and compostable; it has to be extracted, the public pipes require extra water pressure to move the waste along, pipes clog sooner as fats solidify and line the inside, which may contribute to sewer overflow over time, all of which adds up to increased strain on the water treatment system. And more money for taxpayers. Perhaps the greater issue is that because this Canada geese preparing for winter flight. material is not composted, all its nutrients are lost to Photo by Sandy Millen the earth. This is truly waste in every sense. Page 14 The Watershed Observer

More Walkathon pictures. . .

1-1660 Kenaston Blvd. P.O. Box 70034 Winnipeg, MB R3P 0X6 A healthy lake and watershed now and for future generations. Membership Application*

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Fall 2010 Page 15

Observer Photo Gallery Shoreline damage and flooding from the storm of October 27th

Page 16 Fall 2010

THE WATERSHED OBSERVER

The Watershed Observer is a publication of the Lake Winnipeg Foundation, a registered Canadian Charity. Established in 2005 with a mandate to actively promote the health of Lake Winnipeg, the foundation is dedicated to achieve this goal through support for research, public education, advocacy and management. Board of Directors Bruce Smith - President Anne Doherty - Past President Karin Boyd - Vice President Catherine Salki - Secretary/Treasurer Art Chipman Jesse Cringan Dick Dawson Rick Gamble Lila Goodspeed A Really Big Watershed! Sheila Grover Lyle Lockhart Robin Mather Lake Winnipeg’s watershed (shown in or- Barb Oberding ange) is almost one million square kilome- Alex Salki Janet Sampson tres. Patrons When measured by surface area, it is the Lloyd Axworthy 10th largest freshwater lake in the world. Gary Filmon Bill Uruski Millions of acres of productive agricultural Lake Winnipeg Foundation cropland drain to the lake. www.lakewinnipegfoundation.org 1-1660 Kenaston Blvd. P.O. Box 70034 Almost 7 million people live in the water- Winnipeg, MB R3P 0X6 shed plus several times more farm animals. Volume 11, Fall 2010 Water drains into Lake Winnipeg from four The Watershed Observer Editor: provinces and four states. Katharine Walton [email protected]

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