World Wildlife Fund – Pollution and climate change among risks to waterways

OTTAWA –  The World Wildlife Fund says Canada can no longer pretend it is a country rich with pristine lakes and rivers.

In a new report entitled “Canadian freshwater ecosystems in peril” backs up the claim.  Based on four years of research, the conservation organization says one-third of Canada’s 167 watersheds are experiencing high levels of disturbance due to everything from pollution and overuse to climate and change and hydroelectric development.
 
More than one-third are so polluted the WWF says it is of serious concern.

Three in four are experiencing moderate or high impact from climate change and one in four have poor or fair water quality largely due to agriculture and mining. Individual Watershed Reports are available for public viewing.

The report says equally troubling is decades of government cuts to monitoring programs, which means there isn’t enough data collected to give a full picture of watershed health.