Manitoba Water Stewardship Assistant Deputy Minister Dwight Williamson announced that Manitoba was joining the partnership led by the Foundation to develop a nutrient budget and water quality models for Lake of the Woods.  The Water Stewardship Department is providing technical and financial support to the Foundation's research on Lake of the Woods, in recognition of the importance of the lake to Manitobans, to the drinking water supply for Winnipeg, and to the efforts to restore the health of Lake Winnipeg, given that Lake of the Woods is a major source of water and nutrients to Lake Winnipeg.  

As part of the Nutrient Budget Study being conducted for Lake of the Woods, the Foundation is providing support for the establishment of a tributary monitoring program for the Canadian streams flowing into the Rainy River and Lake of the Woods.

The purpose is to measure nutrient loadings into the Rainy River and into Lake of the Woods from Canadian tributaries.  Although many of the streams in Minnesota are monitored, nutrient loads on the Canadian side have not been measured. 

Ontario got behind to the Foundation's efforts to institute bi-national coordination for our lake in late January, when Premier Dalton McGuinty sent a letter to Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon supporting the Foundation's request for an International Joint Commission reference for Lake of the Woods water quality. Ontario is asking for:

• Formation of a bi-national task force, set up through the IJC, to coordinate nutrient loading research and development of nutrient management plans across all jurisdictions around the lake;
• Expansion of the existing IJC Rainy River Water Pollution Board to include Lake of the Woods, to provide long-term monitoring and follow up for the lake.

The Premier also indicated Ontario's intent to strengthen and formalize collaboration on the lake by developing a multi-agency working agreement between provincial, state and federal agencies.

The effort to institute binational coordination for water quality through the International Joint Commission got a boost from the Province of Manitoba in early March 2009.  In a letter dated March 5th to Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, Manitoba Minister of Water Stewardship Christine Melnick requested that Canada jointly (with the United States) provide the International Joint Commission with the authority (known as a "Reference") to address water quality on Lake of the Woods.  Minister Melnick cited the existing collaboration between her Department and Canada, Ontario, Minnesota and the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation as a strong starting point for coordination by the International Joint Commission.

Manitoba's support follows on a similar request to Canada for an IJC Reference by Ontario Premier McGuinty in late January.  With Manitoba aligned with Ontario in support of international coordination for the lake through the IJC, the stage is set for a positive response from Canada.