groundbreaking ceremony

Turning the sod on water management with multiple benefits

The Pelly Lake Watershed Management project will help control spring runoff, boost hay yields, reduce nutrient loads and produce biofuel

In a symbolic nod to the past, officials here used an old coal shovel to turn the sod on a project many see as a new future of renewable energy and renewed water quality. After decades of failed attempts to drain a picturesque valley located about five km southeast of Holland so that farmers could

While farmers are using fertilizer efficiently today, drainage is mobilizing phosphorus already stored in the soil.  photo: ©thinkstock

Manitoba farmers credited for using fertilizer efficiently

Manitoba farmers credited for using fertilizer efficiently New research by the International Institute for Sustainable Development has confirmed what Keystone Agricultural Producers president Doug Chorney already knew about how farmers manage fertilizer in this province. After comparing how much synthetic fertilizer Manitoba farmers use in every municipality across agro-Manitoba against the nutrients removed by crops,


Storm clouds hover over the Arabian Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. India’s monsoon rains may arrive on the southern Kerala coast around June 3, a late debut that will raise fears any revival for drought-hit tracts of southern and western farmland could be delayed. photo: REUTERS/Sivaram

The Bonn Declaration

The following is the full text of a declaration released following a conference of 500 leading water scientists who attended the “Water in the Anthropocene” conference earlier this month in Bonn, Germany. In the short span of one or two generations, the majority of the nine billion people on Earth will be living under the

Conference discusses keeping water on the land

As a people, we need to look at fresh water as a valued asset, not something to be flushed down the river

To flood or not to flood, and will spring ever come? Those were the thoughts on many minds as we entered Canada Water Week. Held annually on the third week of March to coincide with World Water Day on March 22, the Manitoba Eco-network celebrated with a conference in Brandon entitled “Keeping Water on the


‘Catch-22’ for toxicity of algae that produce ‘red tides’

Toxic algae in the Gulf of Mexico multiply because of excess phosphorus, but when supplies are limited, they become more toxic, according to a new study by scientists from North Carolina State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Writing in the online journal PLOS ONE, they say their study shows that harmful and

Study confirms Arctic sea ice collapse

Well, Arctic sea ice made the headlines again this week, as a new study has confirmed what some climate models have been predicting about the amount of it. When you hear discussions about summer melt season ice loss in the Arctic, they are talking about ice extent — that is, how much the surface area


Water cycles on the great plains have changed

A water crisis isn’t coming. It’s already here. And unless action is taken, Robert Sandford says the hydrological changes the Lake Winnipeg Basin is experiencing will bankrupt the province. “More extreme weather events are clearly already a reality,” said the author and adviser to the United Nations Water for Life Decade. Rising global temperatures have

City charged for releasing sewage into Red River over seven-week period

They’re not blaming farmers for this one The provincial government has charged the City of Winnipeg for releasing “a large amount” of partially treated sewage into the Red River a year ago. The release of the effluent, which had high levels of fecal coliform and E. coli, began on Oct. 7, 2011 and lasted for


Watch for deadly blue-green algae blooms in ponds and watering sites

The algae is actually a photosynthetic bacteria that thrives with warm weather, 
calm winds and abundant nutrients, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen

Livestock producers should watch for green to blue-green scum in fresh water supplies. “Algae blooms cause major disruptions, not only because of their offensive odour and appearance; but because they can be fatal to livestock, pets and people,” says Roxanne Johnson, a water quality associate with North Dakota State University’s extension service. “Not all algae

Habitat Heritage Corporation signs 600th conservation agreement

The Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation (MHHC) marked Earth Day Apr. 22 with the signing of its 600th conservation agreement, which will permanently conserve 93 privately owned acres of uplands and 51 acres of wetlands in the Turtlehead Creek watershed in the Turtle Mountains. The agreement brings the total under conservation agreements to 110,000 acres of