Manitoba braces for zebra-mussel invasion

[CHIMO]

It’s a western moving siege: An army of algae-eating, pipe-clogging, fingernail-size menaces is set to storm the waters of Manitoba.

Provincial officials are on high alert for zebra mussels, one of the many nuisance species that invaded the Great Lakes and have recently found a home in the Red River in North Dakota. Their arrival spells big trouble for the natural ecosystem, not to mention the havoc they can cause to water pipes, hydroelectric dams and other infrastructure.

“We have no control over what they’re going to do. That’s the sad part,” said Hugh MacIsaac, director of the Canadian Aquatic Invasive Species Network and a professor at the University of Windsor. “Unfortunately, since they’re in the Red River, the current is going to take them directly into Manitoba whenever there’s floods.”

While some foreign species have been relatively harmless, many, like the Asian carp and zebra mussels, have turned out to be insidious pests.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/manitoba-braces-for-zebra-mussel-invasion/article1644174/


Water - Devils Lake update

The Devils Lake outlet in North Dakota is a unilateral U.S. action that has been condemned by Manitoba and environmentalists on both sides of the border.

The Devils Lake outlet is a 23-kilometer diversion designed to address chronic flooding by draining water into the Sheyenne River, which flows east into the Red River. The Red then carries the water north to Lake Winnipeg, the world’s 10th largest freshwater lake.

Manitoba maintains that Devils Lake contains organisms that are foreign and possibly harmful to Manitoba waters, which could negatively impact the province’s fishing and tourism industries. The 1909 International Boundary Waters Treaty prevents the flow of polluted water across the U.S.- Canada border.

In August 2005, after a protracted diplomatic dispute, the White House and Ottawa reached an agreement that included a commitment to install a permanent filter, estimated to cost $18 million US or more.

http://www.canadians.org/water/issues/Devils_Lake/index.html