Water Quality Management Conference Frontier Centre – Manitoba Sustainable Energy Association

Hendzel Freshwater Institute Fisheries and Oceans Canada University of Manitoba Lake Winnipeg August 1999 (Striking first satellite view of the problem) Colors: brown = low chlorophyll yellow to green = high chlorophyll Surface blue-green blooms North Basin Lake Winnipeg Using satellite imagery to understand Lake Winnipeg ecosystem dynamics Lake Winnipeg Ice Cover April 16, 2005 and South Basin Ap. [...] First insights into eutrophication • Eutrophication (nutrient enrichment) of the Great Lakes began during the 1950s and 1960s with increased inputs of phosphorus, mainly from municipal sewage, • Scientific understanding of the key role of phosphorus in eutrophication began when the International Joint Commission (IJC) was asked to consider the causes of pollution in the eastern Great Lakes, • IJC. [...] Experimental Lakes Area Eutrophication Studies • In 1968, the Canadian government established the Winnipeg Freshwater Institute and the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) where whole- lake experiments were used to find the cause of Great Lake eutrophication, • The role of phosphorus was unequivocally and scientifically demonstrated by the experiments on small whole lakes at ELA Where is the ELA Located. [...] Although the causes of the problems are understood in general, our scientific knowledge of the Lake is limited and insufficient to answer some of the specific questions posed by Lake managers” - G. [...] Lake 885 Enclosure Experiments Nitrogen additions suppress cyanophytes Lake Winnipeg Ecosystem Status Lake Winnipeg Watershed 1M km2 Recap of Lake Winnipeg Nutrient Science Algal Response to Phosphorus Loading Reduction in Western Basin of Lake Erie Public Policy Linkages Public Policy Linkages for further consideration.