— John Sollows
Folks have been asking me about public access to the various reports on water quality done by the Nova Scotia Department of the Environment, Nova Scotia Fisheries and Aquaculture, a raft of volunteers, and us TREPA folks.
They are on the Yarmouth municipal website. Things have recently been rearranged, and they are now harder to find. To reach them now, click or copy-and-paste https://www.district.yarmouth.ns.ca/index.php/community/community-organizations-programs/224-carleton-river-watershed.
The final phase of sampling is happening this month so it’s a little premature to say how things are going this year. Once again, we had a hot, dry summer. That made for warmer water and less runoff. Less summer runoff means likely drops in both colour (from decaying leaves) and nutrients.
Warmer, clearer water means that lakes are more vulnerable to blue-green algal blooms, so we all need to be increasingly careful about what runs into our rivers and lakes. Waterfront landowners need to maintain wild shoreline buffers. The mink industry and other users who can potentially pollute need to follow regulations and voluntary guidelines, as well.
Blue-green algal blooms are not just hard on property values, they are hazards to public health.