Media Coverage - November 2017
Photo: Swim Drink Fish Canada
Waterkeeper
"Peel Region released partially treated sewer water into Lake Ontario twice in 2017"
Roger Belgrave, Brampton Guardian, November 23, 2017
“Sewage bypasses are becoming all too common in Lake Ontario communities,” [Mark Mattson] said. In Toronto there have been 23 bypasses in 2017, he noted, that is more than double the previous year.
“It is becoming a basic rule that people should start thinking about water quality, like the weather, as something that changes every day,” Mattson remarked.
Both the region and Ontario Ministry of Environment pointed fingers at each other when asked about public access to bypass reporting information that is supposed to be public and readily available.
Political decisions and action are needed today to ensure growth and climate change don?t undermine the future value of our waters, according to Mattson. “When bypasses take place such as this year in Peel Region, that is a good time to start taking action,” he said.
"Good to Give: a guide to donation-ready organizations, projects, and social enterprises in our community."
Toronto Foundation, November 2017
"Lake Ontario Waterkeeper works to restore and protect Lake Ontario to ensure it is swimmable, drinkable and fishable. In addition to monitoring water quality status to ensure safety for those who wish to swim in, drink, or fish from Lake Ontario waters, Waterkeeper educates and supports individuals and organizations working for clean water, investigates threats to the watershed, and participates in fact-based processes like license reviews, environmental assessments, and legal hearings. www.waterkeeper.ca" [p. 23]
Swim Guide
"Waterkeepers Seek To Safeguard Our Seas"
Tribune242, November 16, 2017
"As executive director of Waterkeepers Bahamas, Rashema is part of a team that tests water at 16 public beaches on a regular basis. The monitoring is a partnership between Waterkeepers Bahamas and an international organization called Swim Guide which maintains an up-to-date beach and water condition report on 7,000 beaches around the world. Reports are available at SwimGuide.org.
With the agreement between Swim Guide and Waterkeepers Bahamas signed in August, the monitoring duties have been so time-consuming that Rashema has had to ask for volunteers. This week, they began their training."
Watermark Project
"Watermarks from the West"
Vol. 5, Issue 4 - Water Matters quarterly newsletter - IJC - November 2017
The IJC’s Great Lakes Connection newsletter has been highlighting Watermarks for more than a year — from Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. But these videos and written testimonials are just the beginning.
Lake Ontario Waterkeeper (LOW) has been gathering Watermarks since 2015, and they span North America and the globe. The Watermark Project is an effort to collect and archive true stories about ways people interact with water. The IJC is working with LOW to capture Watermarks about the Great Lakes.
For the purposes of the IJC’s Water Matters newsletter, let’s look at submissions from outside the Great Lakes, in the western part of the transboundary swath that winds its way along the Canada-US border. If you’re looking for Watermarks from your area, see this interactive map. And submit your own.
Swim Drink Fish Canada
"River guardians Swim Drink Fish getting boost from celebrity couple"
Catherine Griwkowsky, Edmonton Journal, November 2017
While six-time Stanley Cup winner Kevin Lowe and Olympic medallist and alpine skier Karen Percy Lowe made their careers on ice and snow, they have since turned their attention to keeping water — specifically the North Saskatchewan River — clean.
The Lowes are [hosted] a fundraiser called Swim Drink Fish Salon at their home for friends on Saturday [November 4th] in partnership with Swim Drink Fish Canada and North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper.
Swim Drink Fish Canada president Mark Mattson spent decades as an environmental lawyer and became Lake Ontario Waterkeeper president to ensure everyone can swim, drink and fish.
“I started realizing a big part of this work isn’t just giving force to criminal laws, it’s giving meaning to them,” Mattson said Friday.