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Federal funding not enough to clean up lake

By: Bruce Owen

Posted: 08/11/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

PRIME Minister Stephen Harper's pledge of $18 million to clean up Lake Winnipeg is just a drop in the bucket, Vicki Burns of the Lake Winnipeg Foundation said Friday.

And she said that while it sounds like a lot, a good portion of that money will be burned off paying the salaries of federal government employees instead of going directly into new programs to clean up the lake.

That's why Manitobans shouldn't be complacent this weekend in supporting the sixth annual Walk for Water this Sunday and other grassroots fundraising, she said.

"In the last round of federal funding there was only $17 million -- there was only perhaps $3.7 million that actually went to new projects," Burns said. "The rest of it all went to pay federal government staff who were on payroll already."

Harper's $18 million, announced in Gimli earlier this month, is the second phase of the Lake Winnipeg cleanup initiative that began in 2006. It's aimed at reducing the amount of nutrients flowing into the lake that promote growth of toxic blue-green algae, which has already washed up on many beaches in the south basin this summer.

Burns said that while Ottawa's money is welcome, it's caused some to question the need for grassroots fundraising to pay for other projects to promote a cleaner lake.

"We realize we need to clarify to the public that a lot more is needed in order to restore the health of this lake," she said. "When you realize how much is needed, (Ottawa's $18 million) is not really going to solve all the problems, and we all need to get involved."

Projects funded to date include the foundation's Sensitive Habitat Inventory and Mapping study. The study created a database of shoreline habitat along the lake's south basin from Riverton to Traverse Bay to use to plan future development along the lake. A second study looked at the impact of municipal sewage lagoons on the Dead Horse Creek, Plum River, and the Red River in southern Manitoba, and the flow of phosphorous and nitrogen in these waterways.

Burns said additional funding is also needed to address better wastewater treatment in the province and to increase the number of acres devoted to wetlands to hold back water during spring flood season.

"We need to really concentrate on Manitoba," she said. "After we've demonstrated that we can actually make a big difference here, then we put can put our efforts to outside our own borders. Half of the problem is within Manitoba."

bruce.owen@freepress.mb.ca

Make a splash

TO participate in the sixth annual Walk for Water and other Lake-A-Thon events, check out www.walkforwater.ca

Sunday's Walk for Water fundraiser is being held at Victoria Beach, Gimli, Matlock and Grindstone.

"Lots of people may not want to do the walk," Vicki Burns, outreach coordinator of the Lake Winnipeg Foundation, said. "They can figure out their own Lake-a-Thon event, have a garage sale, or whatever. There are a whole bunch of ways you can contribute."

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 11, 2012 A11

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