water flow

Expect increased water levels on Severn River: Parks Canada

Expect increased water levels on Severn River: Parks Canada

The increased flows overnight are the result of water management dam adjustments to address the higher-than-normal water levels caused by the recent precipitation. Over the past three days, the watersheds have received over 60 millimetres of rain, which represents 75 percent over the normal precipitation values for the month of June.

Water flow in Alberta is 'exceptionally low' this year and could pose challenges for fish

Water flow in Alberta is 'exceptionally low' this year and could pose challenges for fish

Lorne Fitch, a longtime fisheries biologist and former adjunct professor at the University of Calgary, is often checking out the headwaters of the Oldman River. "It's been an interesting view of a year that doesn't seem to follow anything that resembles a normal pattern," Fitch said. In Alberta, June typically brings high levels of rain, which hasn't been the case this year. Snowpacks also disappeared, on average, about a month earlier than they would have in a normal year, according to Paul Christensen, a senior fisheries biologist with Alberta Environment and Protected Areas.

Don't want your corpse burned or buried? You can choose 'aquamation' in Saskatchewan

Don't want your corpse burned or buried? You can choose 'aquamation' in Saskatchewan

In Saskatchewan, people can also opt for aquamation. It's been touted as a greener, more environmentally-friendly way to deal with a corpse. Aquamation, also known as alkaline hydrolysis, uses water flow, temperature and alkalinity to speed up the decomposition of the body while it is in an airtight, stainless steel container. "All it does is accelerate nature's process," said Jan Porten, managing director for Eirene Funeral Services in Saskatchewan.

'Everything about the Gulf of St. Lawrence was warmer in 2021': federal scientist

'Everything about the Gulf of St. Lawrence was warmer in 2021': federal scientist

Warming ocean temperatures — especially in deep water — set more records in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2021, according to climate data released Tuesday by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. "Everything about the Gulf of St. Lawrence was warmer in 2021," said federal research scientist Peter Galbraith, based at the Lamontagne Institute in Mont-Joli, Que.

Alberta’s ‘back door’ plan to free up billions of litres of water for coal mines raises alarm

Alberta’s ‘back door’ plan to free up billions of litres of water for coal mines raises alarm

In Alberta, water users are granted the right to withdraw water from rivers and streams through a licensing system. In some watersheds, including the Oldman, that system is closed. There’s a finite amount of water available, and all of the licences are spoken for. The issue is not new. A water policy directive created by the Alberta government in 2006 found “limits for water allocations had been reached or exceeded on the Bow, Oldman and South Saskatchewan River sub-basins, putting at risk Alberta’s obligation to provide water to neighbouring provinces and conserve the aquatic ecosystem.”

A TALE OF THREE WATERSHEDS: WHAT WE KNOW — AND DON’T KNOW — ABOUT THE HEALTH OF CANADA’S FRESHWATER

A TALE OF THREE WATERSHEDS: WHAT WE KNOW — AND DON’T KNOW — ABOUT THE HEALTH OF CANADA’S FRESHWATER

Canada is famously home to 20 percent of the world’s freshwater — but how well are we stewarding this supply? WWF-Canada recently reassessed the health of our country’s 25 watersheds to better understand how they’re responding to threats from pollution, habitat loss and climate change. Our 2020 Watershed Reports found that 26 per cent of Canadas’s 167 sub-watersheds received a score of Good or Very Good, which is good or very good news! But what’s bad, or possibly very bad, is that nearly 60 per cent of these sub-watersheds received no score at all because they remain Data Deficient. In other words, we just don’t know. This lack of data is concerning as we need a complete picture to determine which areas need dedicated efforts to protect our freshwater ecosystems.

Data gaps prevent assessment of most Canadian watersheds: WWF report

Data gaps prevent assessment of most Canadian watersheds: WWF report

Spotty research and inconsistent monitoring have made it impossible to evaluate the health of most Canadian watersheds, a study has found. “It’s still largely unknown,” said Elizabeth Hendricks of the World Wildlife Fund, which has just released its second evaluation of the condition of Canada’s freshwater environments. Hendricks said the report points to the need for standardized, national water monitoring done by local communities.