Water & Wastewater
Out of sight, out of mind
|
You dump something down the drain, and presto, it's gone! Not really, but it does seem like a disappearing act! What goes down the drain in the homes of the people living in our watershed can end up in Lesser Slave Lake. We use water every day, and we affect its cleanness. It's easy to see garbage or debris floating in the water, water with soap suds, or even the sheen of oil on the water's surface. Contaminated wastewater affects all our waterbodies; making beaches unattractive, closing fisheries, and affecting tourism opportunities in our region. Imagine your favourite lake activity: swimming, laying on the beach, fishing, or maybe paddling. We often don't think about where things end up once they are down the drain. So, where does the water go when you flush the toilet? Well, that depends. If you live in town it goes to the water treatment system, through a series of aerobic and anaerobic (oxygen/no oxygen) digestion processes before being released into the environment after passing water quality tests. Anything you put down the drain that employees or bacteria don't physically remove ends up in our waters. This is different that what happens out of town, and down the storm water drains. Some rural residences are connected to county sewage system as well, but chances are if you live out of town you have a septic system. In our watershed there is one waste water treatment plant that uses biological and mechanical processes to treat waste and discharges continually into a treatment wetland. This plant is able to filter pollutants including nutrients out of wastewater. The technology is better but the costs of building and using this type of system is a major barrier.
|
|
No matter where you live though, eventually, the water you flush could going to end up in your glass of water. I know that sounds gross, but it's true. Because of the water cycle, the amount of water on earth stays constant and continuously cycles around the planet, so we could be drinking water that was once in cacti in Arizona! Many pollutants are not obvious to the naked eye. Some pollutants are easier to remove from water than others. Wastewater usually contains nutrients, which can exacerbate algal blooms. Though plants and fish need nutrients, excess nutrients overfeed algae which can deplete oxygen from the water as they decompose. Bacteria also decompose the organic wastes in our water. This process takes up a lot of oxygen and can impact the health of fish and other aquatic life in our lakes, rivers, and streams. Nutrients, effluent and other pollutants are ingested by small organisms, which are later consumed by ever larger fish and animals, this is called bioaccumulation. Because of bioaccumulation, animals (including humans) can be made sick, injured or even killed by pollutants. |
 |
So, what should go down the drain?
It's best if you only flush your body's waste and toilet paper, anything else can have negative impacts on both the plumbing/infrastructure and the natural environment. Water and anything typically mixed with water, such as toothpaste, soap, and shampoo, are the only thing that should go down our sink and shower drains. Preventing pollution in the first place is essential. We all have a role to play in ensuring toxins and excess nutrients do not enter our waters. When we use water wisely, we ease the burden on sewage treatment. Using water wisely means not wasting it and minimizing the number of contaminants entering our drains. Lake friendly practices can help us make choices to conserve and protect our precious water resources.
AGM Update, Bursary, Fall 2020
AGM UPDATE: BOARD INTRODUCTION, NO MORE MEMBERSHIP FEE
| 2018/19 Board of Directors |
We welcomed several new board members this year, including: Darcie Acton, (MD of Lesser Slave River); Cori Klassen, the Executive Director of the Lesser Slave Forest Education Society (NGO representative); Nona Elliot, a community member from Shaw’s Point (Cottage Owner & Country Residential representative); Jeanette Willier, a community member from Joussard (Cottage Owner & Country Residential alternate); Susan Nielsen, a producer from Big Meadow (Agriculture representative); and George Keay, the founding chairman of the LSWC, has re join us! (Tourism & Economic Development alternate). We welcome them to the table with open arms, and look forward to having their knowledge and experiences enrich the conversations around our table. We will share pictures of our new board following our Strategic Planning session in early November 2020.
This year is we removed the annual $5 membership fee, our Board of Directors cited concerns with accessibility and financial barriers to potential members. The membership bylaw was updated at the AGM on October 2nd and going forward an annually renewed membership form is the only requirement for general membership. If you’re looking for more information, including the full list of directors and most recent annual report, visit www.lswc.ca, call our office at 780-523-9800, email [email protected], or find us on Facebook!
SEEKING DONATIONS FOR NEW BURSARY
Starting in Fall of 2021 the LSWC will have a bursary available to students within the Lesser Slave Watershed studying sciences at a recognized post-secondary institution in Alberta. The award for the bursary will be determined annually, based on community donations. At present we are accepting donations toward the bursary fund, for more information on the bursary or to donate please visit www.lswc.ca/support. This bursary is offered in the memory of Brian Elliot and Brian Rosche, two of the founding Board members from the Lesser Slave Watershed Council. Both these two men contributed a significant amount of time and energy to the promotion of watershed literacy, projects to help us understand the dynamics of our watershed, and to the health of our watershed, and their contributions to the Watershed have not gone unnoticed. Recognized for their abilities to bring about the best in others, and engage with others in the responsible management of our watershed Mr. Elliot and Mr. Rosche’s work will be memorialized through this bursary. At present we are seeking donations for the bursary from community members, with applications opening up in the summer of 2021, with the bursary being awarded at the beginning of the school year.
COMMUNITY THANKS
 |
 |
| Watershed Coordinator accepting a cheque from West Fraser staff to fund our 2019 Kids Can Catch Ice Fishing Event in Joussard | Executive Director accepting a cheque from Plains Midstream to support our ongoing Water Quality Monitoring Program |
Without the support of local businesses, municipal and provincial governments, and watershed residents it would be impossible for the LSWC to take on the work we do across the watershed. More than $30,000 of financial support has come from forestry and oil and gas companies in the region, and over 1500 hours of volunteer time have helped us to continue to promote watershed stewardship, educate the public, and create opportunities for collaborative projects in the past year. We are so grateful to live, work, and play in the Lesser Slave region, and want to thank all of you for your ongoing support! If you have any questions about what we do, or would like to learn more about our ongoing programs please visit our website www.lswc.ca, call our office at 780-523-9800, email [email protected], or find us on Facebook!