Opinion: Enjoy Sask lakes this summer, and thank a threatened wetland

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As people head to the lake this summer, their thoughts turn to family fun on the water, lakeside barbecues and playing on the beach. But in Saskatchewan, the lakes we’ve come to love and appreciate are changing, and not for the better.

Algae blooms are becoming more frequent and toxic, and we’re hearing warnings from water scientists that things will only get worse unless changes are made. 

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Saskatchewan is blessed with an abundance of wetlands; you may know them as potholes, sloughs and marshes. Besides providing critical wildlife habitat and biodiversity, healthy wetland systems store water and slow water flows, reducing flooding and drought, and they fight climate change by storing large amounts carbon. 

Wetland plants, soils and microorganisms are also champions of water purification, filtering and breaking down excess nutrients, fertilizers, and pollutants from watersheds before they reach our lakes. Conserving wetlands maintains this key filtering capacity and disrupts the pathways through which pollutants can flow into our lakes, safeguarding our ongoing enjoyment of lakeside recreation and activities. 

That’s why a new coalition called Wetlands For Tomorrow has been created by concerned citizens and organizations (the Citizens Environmental Alliance, Calling Lakes Ecomuseum, Last Mountain Lake Stewardship Group, Lower Qu’Appelle Watershed Stewards, Public Pastures — Public Interest, the Saskatchewan Alliance For Water Sustainability, and the National Farmers Union) to advocate for wetland conservation in Saskatchewan.  

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Their goal is to bring awareness to the public about the benefits wetlands provide society and farmers, and to encourage them to raise concerns to the government on how wetlands are managed by the province, especially in light of a new, aggressive agricultural water drainage policy.  

Wetlands belong to the public, but without consulting the people, the Saskatchewan government is creating a new policy that will promote the drainage of 79 per cent of wetlands, or up to two million acres of wetlands.

This drainage will inundate our lakes and rivers with excess nutrients, increase toxic algal blooms, increase droughts and floods, destroy critical wildlife habitat, damage roads and private property, and cost taxpayers billions of dollars.  

Repeated calls by the provincial auditor since 2018 criticizing the government for not protecting wetlands, neglecting to control nutrient runoff, and failing to create wetland conservation policies have gone completely ignored.

Instead, the government has doubled down and launched a media campaign claiming Saskatchewan has an abundance of wetlands and that the government is a protector of wetlands. But the government’s own facts don’t lie.

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The Water Security Agency estimates we have already lost 50 per cent of our wetlands, and in just the last few years the government has approved wetland drainage projects that would cover an area 17 times the size of Regina. 

Wetlands belong to the people of Saskatchewan. All of them are thousands of years old, irreplaceable and deserve as much respect as any old growth ecosystem.

They are a Crown resource that should be managed for everyone’s benefit, rather than being exploited for the economic gain of a few large corporate farms.

This new policy prioritizes development over all other water users, ignores treaty rights of First Nations, and creates a hierarchy in which development is paramount.

Our policies need to set Saskatchewan’s economy, our farmers and ranchers, and our communities up for success by protecting our environment. We need Wetlands For Tomorrow. To learn more, visit us at facebook.com/SKwetlands.

Alice Davis is a member of Wetlands For Tomorrow.

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