On March 18th at The Guild, there was a 'Town Hall on Water' led by Hon. Shawn Murphy MP. This is report of the proceedings:
Speakers:
Hon Shawn Murphy, MP
Hon. Francis Scarpaleggia, MP
Jocelyn Rankin, Water Coordinator, NS Ecology Action Centre
Yefang Jiang, Hydrogeologist with PEI Department of Environment, Energy and Forestry
Hon. Shawn provided the hand-out below and gave a presentation. He stressed the need for better water management, conservation and integrated management.
Jocelyn talked about drinking water quality, sewage contamination and climate change problems. The need for inter-departmental cooperation was stressed. She said that one estimate values our water resources at $11 billion.
Yefang gave an excellent presentation about the impending disaster of increasing nitrate levels and the incursion of seawater into our aquifers because of rising sea levels.
PEI is unique in that we only drink groundwater. 66% of our stream water is groundwater, and in the summer that rises to 100%. Local heavy extraction is a problem, the average extraction is 1.2% of the recharge, but in some areas extraction is 35% - which can cause streams to dry up completely in the summer.
It takes up to 40 years to flush nitrates and other chemicals from the deep groundwater out into streams (and our wells) whereas the shallow groundwater, which is mostly responsible for feeding our streams, takes 4 to 7 years to flush. There is less nitrate in the deep groundwater. If we stop using chemicals right now, we will still be drinking them in 40 years.
Hon. Francis is an MP who created the Liberal Water Caucus and is interested in promoting water security. He is pushing for a national water strategy. He spoke about oil-sands tailing ponds and the increased use of living lakes as toxic dumps (see reference). We must not be allowed to export our water. 20 federal departments, plus provincial and municipal governments are concerned with water issues, yet there is not cooperation or strategy. We should have a Junior Minister for Water.
Here is the hand-out from Hon. Shawn:
Prince Edward Island Situation and Relationship with Water
The main hindrance of responsible and effective water policy and consumption lies in the myth of abundance.
Water Resources
Private wells supply 40% of the Island population and nearly 50% of Islanders use on-site wastewater treatment, many communities have a central water supply and/or a central wastewater treatment system.
A large portion of what is missing in PEI’s water discussion is increased protection of wetlands and swamps. This provides a natural way of purifying our ground and surface water and many other jurisdictions are taking action to protect and re-establish swamps and wetlands in urban and rural areas.
Water Use
Prince Edward Islanders are among the largest water users in Canada. Conservation has not been a high priority. While a century ago one family would consume 23 litres per day, today the average family uses between 1140 and 1820 litres of water per day.
Most of PEI’s economic productivity comes from farming, tourism, fisheries, forestry, and aquaculture. Industrial agricultural practices are the biggest consumer of water and producer of wastewater. We need to rethink how we grow and process our food as they are the largest users of water.
Consnervation
By using water-efficiency measures, we would avoid the need to expand our municipal water supplies and the need-to-spend millions of dollars to expand our wastewater treatment plants.
Today there are many ways to be water efficient- new low-water toilets, showers and facet aerators. Like most things, people tend to waste less water if they have to pay for it. Currently, most central water supply systems are not metered yet about 50 percent of municipal water customers in Canada are on a water meter system. I believe this could be a way for people pay the amount of water they use.
Threats to Prince Edward Island’s Water
On PEI, the most serious risks of groundwater contamination are leaks and spills, agricultural wastes, agricultural fertilizers and pesticides, faulty wastewater treatment systems, road salt, and waste disposal sites of older design.
Nitrates
Nitrates have been a growing concern for many Island residents. Excess nitrogen can come from agricultural fertilizers, manure, and domestic sewage. The province reports that average nitrate levels in PEI groundwater are in the range of 3 to 4 mg/L but in some agricultural areas, more than 15 per cent of domestic wells exceed the 10 mg/L guideline recommended in the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. In the 2008 report, six per cent of private wells exceeded the 10 mg/L guideline, and an alarming 11 per cent tested between 8 and 10 mg/L.
Nitrate at high concentrations can be of concern to health, particularly if the water is used to prepare infant formula for young, bottle-fed infants. I have heard concerns been raised about possible links between nitrates and other illnesses, particularly some types of cancer and birth defects. Many studies have attempted to link these health effects to nitrates in drinking water. However, results have been inconclusive.
Soil Erosion
Soil erosion continues to be one of the most significant environmental challenges in Prince Edward Island. Not only does it lead to excessive siltation of streams, but also as soil is washed into waterways, it often carries with it contaminants. This includes pesticides that kill fish and other aquatic life, and fertilizers that contribute to excess nutrients. Elevated levels of nutrients in a waterway trigger intense growth of algae. When the algae decay, it uses up oxygen which results in loss of life within the aquatic system. Thus, we saw record numbers of fish kills that brought international attention on our polluted rivers, which affects our ability to market our seafood as safe and top quality.
The province acknowledges that preventing soil erosion is key to protecting water quality; and crop rotation and other soil conservation measures will go a long way toward that goal. The province’s report also states that healthier soil is also more productive and, therefore, requires less fertilizer. This is significant because fertilizers, as well as manure and sewage, contribute to high levels of nitrates in groundwater and excess nutrients in surface water. Having these crop controls in legislation could solve many of our problems with run-off, nitrates and high levels of fertilizers.
The province also just passed new buffer zones for farms which are good to increase all agricultural practices distances from waterways but I have heard that more community consultation on these buffer zones would have been appreciated.
Health Canada and Environment Canada Report
Environment Canada tests indicate that levels of some pesticides is higher in P E I than Canadian and international guidelines recommend, but Health Canada says there is no risk to humans. An Environment Canada report recently obtained by CBC News detailed six years of pesticide monitoring in P.E.I. No human health or environmental concerns were identified from the data in the report. Samples were obtained from groundwater, rivers, sediment, and air. Some of the highest pesticide levels came from water and mud samples taken from rivers and streams.
Water Quality
The David Suzuki Foundation believes that safe drinking water should be "level of risk is so small that a reasonable, well-informed individual need not be concerned about it, nor find any rational basis to change his/her behaviour to avoid a negligible but non-zero risk." Yet the recent Health Canada report did not provide this and many people are talking about how there must be a link between the levels of pesticides and the levels of disease found on PEI.
Federal Recommendations by Water Groups
• Establishing the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality
• Stop bulk exports of water
• Remove water as a tradable good under NAFTA
• Provide funding for water protection
• Increase funding for aging water infrastructure.
The province of PEI commissioned a report on nitrates chaired by Hon. J. Armand DesRoches. Here are some of the reports recommendations:
Improving Public Education on Protecting Water Quality
Reducing Nutrient Loading from Sewage Treatment Systems
Supporting Watershed-based Water Management Planning
Mandatory Three-year Crop Rotation
Matching Nutrients with Crop Needs to Reduce Nitrogen Leaching
identifying High Nitrate Areas
Solutions might include:
• reduction in fertilizer inputs,
• management of soil organic matter,
• increased tree cover,
• reduction in land under potato production,
• strict controls over all subdivision development, and
• the encouragement of wetland restoration.
Reducing Nitrate Contamination from Cosmetic Use of Fertilizers
Shawn Murphy, Charlottetown MP murphs@parl.gc.ca www.shawnmurphymp.ca 566-7770