Treasury Board President and MP for Provencher Vic Toews, on behalf of Canada's Environment Minister Jim Prentice, today announced $135 thousand in funding for the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation's Nutrient (phosphorus) Budget and Water Quality Modeling research on Lake of the Woods.

Funding for Lake of the Woods was part of an announcement of $1.1 million in funding for fourteen projects under the Lake Winnipeg Basin Initiative. 

"The Government of Canada is investing in projects that will help ensure a healthy future for Lake Winnipeg.  As the sixth largest lake in Canada, Lake Winnipeg is an important environmental, economic and recreational resource," said Minister Toews.

"This project funding represents an important federal contribution towards helping improve the health of the Lake Winnipeg watershed," added James Bezan, MP for Selkirk-Interlake. "It will help provide clean water for generations to come."

The Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation and partners will collaborate to develop a phosphorous budget and water quality models to assist decision-making for phosphorous management in the Lake and its watershed.  The Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation is the project lead on this multi-agency partnership, which also includes:

• The Ontario Ministry of Environment
• The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
• The Manitoba Water Stewardship Department
• Trent University
• Minnesota St. Cloud State University
• Environment Canada

Todd Sellers, Executive Director of the Foundation was on hand for Minister Toews' announcement.  Lake of the Woods is an important component of the eastern portion of the Lake Winnipeg watershed.  The nutrient rich waters of Lake of the Woods flow to Lake Winnipeg via the Winnipeg River which supplies 45% of the water and the second largest source of nutrients to Lake Winnipeg after the Red River.