Marking the 26th annual World Water Day (March 22), the Conservation Council of New Brunswick calls on the provincial government to take immediate action on the commitments made on the Water Protection Strategy released in December 2017.
In that strategy, the provincial government committed to:
- Introducing a new Water Protection Act by 2020, legislation that will both make watershed protection plans mandatory and legally-enforceable, and set science-based water quality standards
- Introducing a new regulation under the Clean Water Act to protect important coastal habitat, especially wetlands and estuaries.
- Examining pesticide runoff into rivers, lakes, streams and drinking water watersheds
- Developing an action plan to reduce blue-green algae blooms
- Introducing a beach monitoring program at provincial parks (implemented in summer 2018)
“World Water Day is an opportunity for New Brunswick to up its game to protect water, whether it’s sewage in Shediac Bay or pollution in the St. John River,” says Kaleigh Holder, Freshwater Campaigner with the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.
“This year the government needs to introduce legally-enforceable water quality standards, introduce watershed protection legislation, and produce a report on the state of water quality in our lakes, rivers and coastal areas.”
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Quick facts
- New Brunswick is a wet province. Our province has 5,000 kilometres of ocean coast, 60,000 kilometres of major rivers and streams, and 2,500 lakes.
- The Water Protection Strategy was developed in consultation with First Nations, environmental groups, the public, academic community, and many of the 30 local watershed groups across New Brunswick.
- In December 2016, the Conservation Council surveyed more than 500 New Brunswickers about their concerns and attitudes about freshwater protection. The WordCloud below represents New Brunswickers’ answers to the question: ‘What worries you most about your favourite river, lake or stream,’ where the most frequent answers appear bigger and bolder.
- Download our World Water Day infographic on the Water Protection Strategy
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact:
Jon MacNeill, Communications Director, Conservation Council; jon.macneill@conservationcouncil.ca; 506-238-3539