Mark R.

Servos, Canada Research Chair in water quality protection, works with some of his University of Waterloo PhD candidates
to collect fish from the Grand River in Kitchener, Ont. on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015. For years he has been monitoring chemical
loadings in the Grand River near Kitchener. Left to right are Meghan Fuzzen, Mark Servos, Keegan Hicks and Maricor Arlos. Ms.
Fuzzen uses an electric instrument to momentarily stun the fish, which are then scooped up by the other members.

Lakes great again, but new threats loom

SHAWN MCCARTHY, The Globe and Mail: Tuesday, Dec. 01, 2015
A concerted 30-year effort has seen substantial improvement in the health of the largest
freshwater habitat on Earth, but persistent and emerging problems exist prompting calls for
further investment, legislation and long-term planning, Shawn McCarthy reports
Like the proverbial canary in a coal mine, the tiny rainbow darter is a sentinel species for the
Grand River which flows through Southwest Ontario and empties into Lake Erie.
The minnows extreme sensitivity to pollution provides clear evidence of changes that are
occurring more subtly through the rivers aquatic food chain and, more broadly, throughout the
Great Lakes watershed.
For several years, male darters living in the Grand River downstream from Kitchener-Waterloo
had among the worlds highest incidence of inter-sex characteristics, developing eggs in their
testes. The phenomenon results fromexpsoure in the water to too much estrogen and other
chemicals that interfere with reproductive development.
But following the local municipalitys $700-million upgrade of its sewage treatment plants two
years ago, the percentage of darters displaying inter-sex characteristics declined dramatically,
according to a team of biologists from the University of Waterloo who study the fish.

For senior researcher Mark Servos, that improvement is a welcome sign that degradation of
Canadas waterways can be reversed with focused attention and investment in modern
treatment facilities. But it cannot give rise to complacency, says the scientist, who holds a
Canada Research Chair in water-quality protection at the University of Waterloo.

A University of Waterloo team member holds a male rainbow darter collected from the Grand River in Kitchener, Ontario on
Saturday, November 7, 2015. The fish are extremely sensitivity to pollution and for years, male darters in the Grand River had
among the worlds highest incidence of inter-sex characteristics, developing eggs in their testes.

In addition to the estrogen, the researchers have identified a witchs brew of chemicals in the
river, including phosphates from municipal sewers and farm runoff; antibiotics and other
pharmaceuticals; and tiny bits of plastic which are appearing in growing quantity. The situation
on the Grand River is emblematic of what is happening across the Great Lakes watershed. Prof.
Servos said he believes drinking water quality is generally good in the Great Lakes watershed,
but that there are concerns.
There is no doubt that we have made progress in water management; things are way better
than they were 30 years ago, he said in an interview on the Grands east bank south of Highway
401, just before he and three doctoral students waded into the river to collect rainbow darters
for their research. But the consequences of not continuing to be vigilant and prioritizing water
protection will be negative impacts on the health and prosperity of our communities.
The Great Lakes system provides drinking water to 44 million people including nearly nine
million Ontarians and is home to commercial and recreational fisheries as well as
environmentally important wetlands. A generation ago, the Great Lakes were in deep trouble as

municipal sewage and industrial toxins were causing serious contamination, particularly in
Huron, Erie and Ontario where population and industry was most concentrated.
In its most recent report on the health of the Great Lakes, the International Joint Commission
reported substantial progress but also persistent and emerging problems. Concentrations of
such carcinogens as dioxins andbenzenes are down 90 per cent from the 1970s, though progress
in many cases has stalled. Fish populations are healthier, though numerous advisories limiting
fish consumption remain in place on all the lakes. Mercury levels fell between 1970 and 1990 but
have stabilized since the mid-1990s, according to the IJC, the bi-national commission that
manages water-quality issues in the lakes.
Now the largest freshwater habitat on Earth faces new threats. A plethora of chemicals is
making its way into the lakes, including new nano-particleswhose impact on the environment
and human health is unknown, and pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics.
The overload of such nutrients as phosphorus and nitrogen is causing toxic algae blooms in
numerous locations, particularly in the warm, shallow western basin of Lake Erie. Last year, the
city of Toledo, Ohio, which lies on the lakes western shore, had to shut down its water intake for
several days due to the algae which also fouls beaches on the Ontario shoreline.
The IJC says the algal blooms are the result of increased fertilizer runoff from farms and
overflow from municipal sewers, as well as the warming of the lakes caused by climate change.
The Ontario and federal governments have joined with the Great Lakes states in an effort to cut
nutrient pollution by 40 per cent, in part by working with farmers to improve land-use practices.

Treated sewage flows into the Grand River from the Hespeler Water Treatment in Waterloo, Ontario on Saturday, November 7,
2015. Two years ago, Kitchener-Waterloo completed a $700-million upgrade of its sewage treatment plants and researcher has
subsequently identified improvement in the Grand River habitat.

The IJCs Canadian chair, Gordon Walker, said there are grave concerns about the blue-green
algae that is showing up in waterways across North America, and has been particularly bad in
Lake Erie, in Lake of the Woods that straddles the Manitoba-Ontario-Minnesota border, and in
Lake Winnipeg.
The IJC has also pointed to the chemicals that are being flushed into the rivers and lakes, and
that traditional municipal waste-water treatment does not capture. When Mr. Walker served his
first term on the IJC 20 years ago, there were 250 identified chemicals; today, there are 650.
Most of these are not taken out by the normal means of sanitary treatment, he said. So far as
we know, the water we all drink is treated and treated well and we do not have concerns. But we
sometimes wonder if 30 years later, after theyve been in the environment that long, [the
chemicals] may prove to be a problem.
Veteran water consultant Ralph Pentland co-authored the 2013 book, Down the Drain: How We
are Failing to Protect our Water Resources, which argues that governments have to do a better
job regulating the chemicals that are introduced into the consumer society and then end up in
the water supply.
He complained that the protection of the Great Lakes often falls victim to jurisdictional
wrangling among federal, provincial and municipal governments. Mr. Pentland is a member of
the Forum for Leadership on Water, which released an open letter during the recent federal
election on the need for better protection of Canadas fresh-water resources.
The group urged the federal government to reinvest in the science of water quality and
protection; to modernize its policies and legislation; and to make long-term investment in
infrastructure that will provide resilience from extreme storms. Mr. Pentland said federal and
provincial governments may have to look at market mechanisms some type of pricing
regime to provide greater protection to the Great Lakes and other bodies of water.
We dont adhere to a polluter-plays principle at all in this country, he said. Water use is a free
good provided by society as a whole. We all pay for the damages.

Microplastics in Torontos Humber Bay, Lake Ontario

The bay at the mouth of the Humber River on Lake Ontario is considered a hot spot for
microplastics tiny bits of plastic that accumulate in the water, along the banks and in
sediment. The plastic particles that are less than five millimetres in size and come from a variety
of sources, including cosmetics and toothpaste, clothing and industrial processes.

University of Western Ontario geologist Patricia Corcoran has scoured the shoreline with her
graduate students and found a high concentration of pellets, even floating in the Humber River,
which flows through heavily industrialized areas of the Greater Toronto Area.
Legislators in the United States and Canada are working to ban microbeads a subset
of microplastics that are used as abrasives in cosmetics and toothpaste though the laws are
often riddled with loopholes. Dealing with microplasticsas a whole is a bigger challenge, and
requires society-wide effort to reduce use and find better alternatives for disposal.

Blue-green algae near Pelee Island, Ont., Lake Erie

Municipals officials for the past two years have had to issue advisories and in some cases close
beaches due to the presence of toxic blue-green algae bloom in western Lake Erie. In 2014, the

city of Toledo, Ohio, had to close its water intake for several days due to the algae, and issue an
advisory not to drink water from the lake.

The troublesome algal growth results from high levels of nutrients from municipal sewers and in
the runoff that flows directly into the lake and its feeder rivers. The problem is acute in the
shallow western basin of Lake Erie. The growth is accelerated by the warming of the Great Lakes
over the past three decades and the sharp decline in the number of days they are covered with
ice.
The intensive cultivation of corn in Great Lakes states and Ontario to supply the ethanol
industry has been a significant factor in the algae problem, said Raj Bejankiwar, a scientist at the
International Joint Commission, which oversees water-quality issues on boundary waterways.
Governments around the lakes have agreed on plans to reduce nutrient runoff, including
working with farmers to fine-tune their fertilizing practices.

Fish kill at a nuclear plant near Kincardine, Lake Huron

Bruce Powers nuclear plant on the shores of Lake Huron has been cited under the Fisheries Act
for doing serious harm to whitefish populations, which are killed by the intake and discharge
of water into the lake. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission says the Bruce plant does not
constitute a threat to the lakes overall fish population, but local aboriginal communities and
environmentalists disagree.

As required under the Fisheries Act, Bruce Power is now working with the Saugeen Ojibway
Nation to assess the plants impact on the bands commercial fishing operation and look to
potential mitigation techniques. Bruce has applied under the act for licence to kill millions of
fish.
Environmentalists and some local residents also worry about Ontario Power Generations plan
to build a nuclear waste repository deep underground, just a kilometre from the Lake Huron
shore. The panel comprising the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and the Canadian
Nuclear Safety Commission has concluded the deep geological repository does not pose an
undue threat to the lake, but critics and several U.S. politicians argue any risk to the Great
Lakes in unacceptable. The federal Liberal government last week delayed a final decision on the
repository until March 1.

Dead zone near Green Bay, Wis., Lake Michigan

In Lake Michigans Green Bay, municipal, industrial and farm runoff is causing a growing dead
zone, in which algae consumes virtually all the oxygen necessary for aquatic life.

Local environmentalists point to the proliferation of industrial dairies inKewaunee County as a

contributing factor due to leaks and storm runoff from manure ponds. They have also raised
concerns about liquid manure spread on fields as fertilizer, contaminating drinking-water wells.
Citizens in Kewaunee County have petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to
investigate the contamination of ground water and force state regulators to act.

Mercury pollution in Thunder Bays North Harbour, Lake Superior

The citys north harbour contained some 400,000 square metres of contaminated sediment with
elevated levels of mercury and other industrial pollutants from a former paper mill. Reclamation
of the site is one of the International Joint Commissions requirements to remove the Thunder
Bay waterfront from its list of areas of concern.

The area provides habitat for perch, walleye, northern pike and a host of smaller fish, and
consultants reports say it could be reclaimed as a recreational fishing spot if it wasremediated.
EcoSuperior, a local environmental group, has worked with consultants and government
scientists to document the extent of the problem and propose a cleanup. This work was
completed last March, and there has been no word from any level of government as to whether
or not any remediation efforts will be initiated, said EcoSuperiors executive director,
Ellen Mortfield.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/great-lakes-are-on-the-mend-but-newthreatsloom/article27548939/