Wednesday July 31, 2013 www.saobserver.net $1.25 GST Included
Creating community
martha WiCkett/obServer
More than 20 canoes are participating in the 13th Pulling Together Journey, this year travelling from Mara Lake to the South Thompson River, completing their week-long paddle in Kamloops. See more on page A14.
Work needed to protect water
Shuswap Lake: Two-year monitoring shows Salmon River, creeks contributing pollutants.
By Barb Brouwer obServer STAFF
So far, not so bad – but vigilance is required. results from a Shuswap lake Integrated Planning Process (SlIPP) water quality monitoring program reveal that while most water samples taken over a two-year period met government safety guidelines for drinking water, swimming, irrigation, livestock, fish and wildlife, there are issues of concern. High concentrations of phosphorus, nitrogen and fecal coliform bacteria were found in certain lake sites, rivers and streams. “We are pleased to report the data from
samples collected in 2011 and 2012 show that the overall quality of the water is still good,” said Paul demenok, SlIPP Steering committee chair and columbia Shuswap regional district electoral Area c director. “We did, however, see some signs of early changes in specific locations that suggest we should start taking actions to help prevent further deterioration in water quality.” Monitoring revealed high nutrient or fecal coliform concentrations at some sampling sites. Salmon river and canoe, Tappen and White creeks had relatively high phosphorus levels. The Salmon river drains a large area and contributes a large vol-
This week It was a first for Shuswap Lake General Hospital and a gift like no other for one family. See A3. Highly skilled crews continue to hone their skills to keep Salmon Arm safe. See A10.
ume into Salmon Arm bay; therefore the phosphorus inputs are significant. Shuswap river had considerably lower phosphorus concentrations than the Salmon river, but since it has a higher volume, it is the largest source of total phosphorus delivered to Shuswap lake. Salmon Arm bay had some elevated concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen near the discharge site of the wastewater treatment facility, but the effects are local. elevated concentrations at another sampling location reflect there are multiple sources of nutrients to this part of the lake. White, canoe, Tappen and newsome creeks had high levels of fecal coliform, measured
at their outlets into the Shuswap lake. These have localized effects, but since the watersheds are small, the contribution to the overall lake water quality is negligible. Swimming in these creeks may not be recommended. All swimming beaches monitored on Shuswap lake had very low levels of fecal coliform, below the recommended guidelines for recreation, with one exception of short duration in 2012 at blind bay. “Water samples taken to assess the effect of greywater discharge were taken at nielsen beach, one of the most popular See monitoring on page A2
Index Opinion ....................... A6 View Point .................. A7 Life & Times ............... A8 Sports................A17-A20 Arts & Events ... A21-A24 Time Out................... A25 Vol. 106, No. 31, 48 pages