Kenora and Lake of the Woods are within a watershed that is shared by Ontario, Manitoba and Minnesota. We are one partner in the management and protection of our lake. This initiative requires local commitment and participation from the City of Kenora. We have been supporting this international collaboration for many years and defining our own grassroots programs to instil a sense of pride and protection of our water resource.
Learn more! Check out educational articles written by the International Watershed Coordinator:
We are part of an international watershed
Here in Kenora, we are at the outflow point of a massive watershed that is the size of New Brunswick and is international in scope, with waters flowing from the east, west and south. Kenora’s location at the north end of Lake of the Woods represents the point at which water draining 70,000 sq km from Minnesota, Ontario and Manitoba enters the Winnipeg River and flows north to Hudson Bay.
In 2004, the need for an international approach to water quality protection on this lake was the impetus for the creation of the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation and the City of Kenora was a key supporter of its mandate – to work towards a sustainability plan for Lake of the Woods. Since then, much has been achieved, including the establishment in 2013 of the International Joint Commission's International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board, the commitment of the Canadian federal government to fund nutrient research on Lake of the Woods, the work of our partners in Minnesota to improve water quality to state standards and, since 2012, the Foundation’s International Watershed Coordination Program that facilitates communication and stewardship amongst all of these entities and the public, without borders.
This initiative requires local commitment and participation from the City of Kenora and the former Lake of the Woods Development Commission. We have been supporting this international collaboration for many years and defining our own grassroots programs to instil a sense of pride and protection of our water resource.
Over the years, the main ecological issues facing this watershed have been identified by our partners and are now the focus of government research and consideration of policy and governance needs. The key issues are:
- Nutrients and algal blooms
- Aquatic invasive species
- Surface and groundwater contaminants
- Impacts of climate change
- Impacts of hydrologic regulation
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