Uncontrolled progress is destroying our precious, life-susta

[Oscar]

Uncontrolled progress is destroying our precious, life-sustaining waters

[ https://www.brandonsun.com/opinion/lett ... 23803.html ]

By: Uncredited Posted: 03/13/2018 3:00 AM Brandon Sun

An ancient trust doctrine dating back to the sixth-century Rome has been declared. “By the law of nature these things are common to mankind — the air, running water, the sea, and consequently the shores of the sea.” Our water resources are a public trust!

Officially, March 22 has been allotted as World Water Day, where we are to appreciate and recognize the importance of this life-sustaining liquid, water. A dedication day, set aside by the United Nations, to address and examine water issues around the world.

Canada and our province of Manitoba have been blessed with an abundance of water, and for that we should be grateful, for there are many people in this world who do not have clean water to drink and cook with. They struggle every day to get by on five or six litres of whatever they can obtain.

On average, in Canada, we will consume, use, waste and flush more than 250 litres every day per person, and because of our abundant sources, we often tend to take our water and its use for granted

However, changes are coming to the forefront and these changes, if not corrected, will eventually affect us also, and not in a very nice way, for water is a finite resource. Unfortunately, our governments and water managers have yet to fully realize that we all need clean, unpolluted fresh water to survive.

Sadly, they ignore the inevitable consequences as they continually strive for the Holy Grail in the economy.

For the present time, Canada and the provinces have an abundance of fresh water to drink and sustain the people’s needs.

The looming situation, however, is that governments at all levels have become extremely complacent in the protection of all our water sources.

Lake Winnipeg is but one example. There are many others.

The "green" in the waters of Lake Winnipeg is not because of recent St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

It is because there is an excess of sediments and nutrients from the immediate area, and from the huge watershed that feeds into the lake. Why is this all happening now?

Well, in fact, it probably has been progressing over the past 40 years or more, and through the years, nature’s own cleaning and filtering devices such as marshes, sloughs, ponds, etc., have been greatly reduced and practically eliminated.

Much of the land has been drained. Large cattle feedlots and industrial hog operations are contributing vast amounts of manure pollution, and cities, like Winnipeg, occasionally permit the dumping of raw sewage into the Red River, which feeds into Lake Winnipeg.

As well, municipalities are not exempt from their own contributions of pollution, and the list goes on.

In so many instances, we have eliminated nature’s defences, and our governments, although professing to be defenders of water, knowingly are agreeable to allow lakes to become polluted, as dumping sites for the benefit of mining operations.

With actions like that, I have come to the conclusion that perhaps the United Nations has a role to play right here in Manitoba and Canada. For in so many cases we, along with our governments, have not dedicated the respect and appreciation that our waters need and deserve.

In closing, I would like to thank the newspaper for publishing this submission.

John Fefch