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A new report by the World Wildlife Fund released today says Canada’s 10 most significant river systems will remain under varying degrees of threat unless a new approach to river management becomes widespread.
“Are we at risk of driving all of our rivers to collapse? Maybe not immediately, but if we do not take action, rivers like the Athabasca River and the Ottawa River could certainly find their way there,” said Tony Maas of the WWF.
The report, titled Canada’s Rivers at Risk, looks at 10 of the most economically significant and difficult to manage rivers in Canada.
The Ottawa River made the list because it supplies drinking water to more than a million people but is in decline because Quebec and Ontario have no integrated plan for making dams and hydroelectric projects work with the river system.
SALMON ON DECLINE
The Fraser River is described as being in good shape but is of concern because a major decline in Sockeye Salmon numbers has put a $300-million fishery under threat.
The South Saskatchewan River in Alberta and Saskatchewan is Canada’s most threatened river with up to 70% of its water being diverted for the farming industry.
The St Lawrence River is similarly in trouble. The lock system on the Great Lakes, as well as river diversions away from the upper Great Lakes, has seen water volumes decline and wildlife suffer.
The same can be said for the Saint John River system, which runs through New Brunswick, Quebec and the U.S. state of Maine. The Saint John is listed as poor because dams have so severely disturbed the river that its once thriving salmon population is now endangered.
‘HOLISTIC’ APPROACH
To fix the problem the WWF says governments need to stop thinking of rivers as lines on a map and develop plans that take the entire watershed into account.
The Nipigon River in Northern Ontario was cited as an example of progress. Fish stocks had suffered from a series of hydroelectric dams until operators got together and adjusted the water flow to more closely resemble natural conditions.
“We are in a unique situation compared to many parts of the world with a lot of the rivers we still have an opportunity to protect,” said Maas. “What we need to do is look at that holistic watershed approach to see the impacts of these different pressures.”