Environmental Facts
Polluted drinking water
In 2000, the Manitoba Rural Groundwater Quality Initiative randomly sampled 1000 wells across Agri-Manitoba and found that 43% of these wells exceeded the Canadian Drinking Water Quality Guideline of zero total coliform bacteria organisms. The same study indicated that 16% of the wells sampled exceeded the guideline for nitrate. Subsequently, this government monitoring program was mysteriously cancelled.
Irresponsible application of manure
Scientists at the University of Manitoba are now saying that 4 to 6 times more land than the regulation currently requires is needed for factory hog operators to responsibly apply their liquid waste. The over-accumulation of phosphorus escapes during rainfall and spring snow-melt events and is one of the primary sources of blue-green algae promoting nutrients in Lake Winnipeg.
Leaking lagoons
A 2005 Freedom of Information request revealed that over half of the manure storage facilities (or lagoons) in Manitoba that have installed ground water monitoring systems show evidence of leaking.
