Convening for Action in British Columbia

DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Healthy Waters Program for salmon, whales, and people” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in May 2023

May 9, 2023 - Posted in ...2023, PUBLICATIONS & DOWNLOADS

Note to Reader:

Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on May 9, 2023 featured the Healthy Waters Program, an initiative of the Raincoast Conservation Foundation and the vision of Dr. Peter Ross.

Healthy Waters Program for salmon, whales, and people

“We know that BC is home to the world’s most contaminated marine mammals (killer whales). But our fundamental lack of data on which chemicals end up in our waters and threaten the health of salmon jeopardizes our ability to protect our most iconic fish for future generations,” states Dr. Peter Ross, Senior Scientist and an internationally recognized ocean pollution expert with the Raincoast Conservation Foundation.

“And while many would hope and expect that government labs would be in the business of monitoring our waters for harmful chemicals, the hard truth is that it is easier to ignore evidence that does not exist. And so goes the story: an inconvenient and at-times difficult truth is often left un-examined.”

“With an estimated 500,000 chemicals on the market, where does one start? How does one describe the source, transport and fate functions for even a small subset of these? How does one determine impact to aquatic biota? And whose responsibility is it to monitor fish habitat quality…?”

PROGRAM GOAL: Healthy waters for salmon, whales, and people

“To address this need, we at Raincoast are launching the Healthy Waters Program, a new community-oriented water pollution monitoring initiative,” announces Peter Ross.

“This program will complement existing initiatives, transcend jurisdictional silos, and bring high resolution analysis of contaminant classes of concern to BC watersheds, beginning in the Fraser River and Salish Sea watershed region.”