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Latest news about the Safe Drinking Water Team
Much of Alberta and Saskatchewan relies on water from melting snow in the Rocky Mountains for replenishment of waterways in the summer. But John Pomeroy — director of the University of Saskatchewan's Coldwater Laboratory in Canmore, Alta. — told CBC that this past winter provided one of the lowest snowpacks he's seen. The snow also melted about six weeks earlier than anticipated, fuelled by the unseasonably warm weather.
Farmers and other producers in southwest Saskatchewan are experiencing dry fall weather. The lack of rain in some areas is causing "moderate to severe on-site water shortages," according to the latest provincial crop report. "It's just setting us up again for a questionable start for next spring," Garner Deobald, the president of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, said. Deobald said most places have seen below average snowfall for the last three or four years. He said the Ministry of Agriculture needs to monitor water quality.
A new University of Saskatchewan smartphone app will help farmers and communities identify hotspots of nutrient contamination in freshwaters and possibly predict where algae blooms — slimy, plant-like green organisms that hinder water quality — are likely to grow. “Tracking how and where agricultural nutrients, which help crops grow, may be washed away with rainfalls and snowmelt is a major concern for both researchers and the public, and that’s where our app comes in,” said Environment and Climate Change Canada scientist Diogo Costa.
