The Health Professionals Task force of the International Joint Commission has released its report into links between human health and water-related issues in the boundary waters of the Lake of the Woods and Rainy River basins.  Download / View Report. 

Reported recently by the IJC in their Winter 2010 issue of Focus on IJC Activities Newsletter (Volume 35, Issue 1) the IJC announced the following:   "The Task Force commissioned the report in collaboration with the International Rainy Lake Board of Control, International Rainy River Water Pollution Board and the International Lake of the Woods Control Board as a project under the International Joint Commission’s International Watersheds Initiative.

Water and Health in Lake of the Woods and Rainy River Basins takes a watershed approach to examining the potential health impacts of 16 threats and identifies their connections to three categories of health concerns: “Can I drink the water?” “Can I eat the local fish?” “Can I go swimming at the beach?” The report also looks at existing data collection gaps as well as the responsibilities and programs of organizations that are currently involved with source water protection and human health.

The Lake of the Woods and Rainy River basin is situated on the international border between Ontario, and Minnesota. It is an area of forested parks and farms that is populated by towns, villages and small cities. A number of dams, which regulate water levels and flows in the basin, can affect water quality and may have an indirect impact on human health. The area has a history of farming, mining, logging and pulp and paper industries that have also impact on water quality. Currently, the area is known as a recreation and tourism destination for fishing and boating. Water quality issues such as algae blooms in Lake of the Woods and closures of municipal beaches as a result of urban runoff are of growing concern.

The report notes that water-related threats to human health are closely related to source water protection. Preventing harmful bacteria and chemical contaminants from entering surface water and groundwater systems is crucial to protecting the health of water and human health. Yet the responsibilities for protecting and managing water in the basin are shared among a number of agencies in both the United States and Canada, each with its own focus and, in many cases, apparent overlapping responsibilities. In terms of health issues related to water, the responsibilities are not clearly delineated between government agencies and departments. The report points out that management of the shared watershed, including the process of identifying health issues in shared waters, would be facilitated by a standardization of source water protection, drinking water and fish consumption guidelines, as well as other water-related regulations between the two countries. The challenge lies in first understanding each agency’s role and integrating health related issues into the larger water management process."

The report is available at the Foundations webisite here and also at the IJC website at www.ijc.org.