A team of ten experts will be making a 900-kilometre trek down the Ottawa River to document the effects and sources of pollution on one of Canada’s most significant waterways. Having pushed off on July 4 from Fort Temiscamingue, Que., Ottawa Riverkeepers member Meredith Brown is leading a team of scientists, canoe experts and historians on the Great River Project which will study the state ...
A sheer rock face juts out of the Quebec side of the Ottawa River, across from the town of Chalk River. It’s a sacred site for First Nations called Oiseau Rock, and ancient pictographs are scattered across the steep cliff. But every time Max Finkelstein passes it in his canoe, there is more graffiti covering the faint images of Canada’s past. It’s just one of many ways that ...
Riverkeeper Meredith Brown and a team of expert educators, scientists, adventurers, paddlers, photojournalists and historians have set off on a 900 kilometre paddling trip down the Ottawa River. Armed with state-of-the-art water quality monitoring gear and photo/video capabilities, the team will travel from Fort Temiscaming to Montreal, collecting real-time water quality samples, which will be ...
Measurements indicating an elevated level of E. coli contamination in the waters of Westboro Beach have prompted no-swim advisories for the fourth consecutive day this week. None of the city’s five other beaches have posted no-swim advisories as many times this year as Westboro Beach. It’s the 12th day the warning has been issued so far, while those seeking a cool dip have been ...
The water levels on the Ottawa River are lower than they’ve been in almost a century, putting fish and other wildlife at risk. “I’ve paddled here for 35 years and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen it like this,” said kayaker John Cockburn. “This year it’s really just gone from low to lower.” Experts say the dry winter combined with a ...
OTTAWA – Fish in the Ottawa River are threatened by the lowest water levels in a century, the executive director of Ottawa Riverkeeper says, even as Ottawans are taking more water out. Meredith Brown said last winter’s light snowfalls had affected water levels in the river this summer. “We had such low snow this year. That’s really the primary driver.” Temperatures in the ...
The extreme heat and humidity experienced across much of Ontario and Quebec last week, from Monday, July 4 to Friday, July 9, has raised additional concerns about the already record-low water levels across the region and has prompted warnings about residents’ energy consumption. The official heat wave also had an evaporation effect on the local rivers. On Tuesday, July 13, the Ottawa ...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OTTAWA, ON – Ottawa Riverkeeper is proud to be named as a top 10 finalist for the 2010 national Hometown Heroes Award. The Hometown Heroes Award Program was established in 2004 by Earth Day Canada to recognize and celebrate environmental leaders, groups and organizations who foster meaningful, long–term community awareness and action. Ottawa Riverkeeper has ...
Ottawa Riverkeeper, in cooperation with the National Capital Commission (NCC), is pleased to announce the formation of an advisory committee for the Ottawa River Summit, a multi-community initiative to encourage collaboration on issues and projects that affect the health and future of the Ottawa River. This first Ottawa River Summit, scheduled to take place on August 27, 2010, will be directed ...
The Ottawa River is a shadow of its usual self. That’s hardly surprising, given that Ottawa has received just 40% of the usual amount of rain it normally does by this time of year and several heat records have been shattered since March. According to Ottawa River Regulating Committee spokesman Michael Sarich, the situation isn’t much better up north, where reservoirs are still not full. ...
VANCOUVER, BC – Lower Mainland environmental groups have been blowing the whistle for years on Metro Vancouver’s Iona Wastewater Treatment Plant in Richmond because it only applies primary treatment before dumping roughly 200 billion litres of effluent annually into the Fraser River’s mouth and Georgia Strait. They also say Iona routinely exceeds federal Fisheries Act ...
Low Water Levels in the Region CFRA News Staff Sunday, May 23, 2010 Low water levels in the Capital Region could be a serious problem for farmers this year. Ottawa Riverkeeper executive director Meredith Brown tells the Ottawa Citizen the city’s water is currently at September levels and this could harm crops. Environment Canada is also predicting little rain and a hot ...
Low water levels raise serious concerns Crops to suffer; boating, fishing to be hurt By Danna Zabrovsky , The Ottawa Citizen May 22, 2010 The immediate consequences of this spring’s low water levels range from good to mildly disappointing. There are fewer mosquitoes (good) but a kayaking competition was canceled (not so good). But if Environment Canada predictions for hot weather and ...
Federal sewer regulation proposal ‘a step backward’ Waterkeeping agencies critical of government plan By Kristy Nease, The Ottawa CitizenMay 22, 2010 Ottawa Riverkeeper has joined two other water agencies in Vancouver and Toronto to condemn proposed Environment Canada regulations that they claim effectively decriminalize sewer discharges and give many Canadian municipalities ...
Video: Ottawa River Water Levels Ottawa Citizen May 21, 2010 The water levels in Ottawa’s rivers and streams are lower than average this spring, says Natasha Wilson of the Ottawa Riverkeeper. Unseasonably low levels of precipitation in the last few months may cause trouble for local wildlife.