The Zhiibaahaasing First Nation Hub, hosted by Zhiibaahaasing First Nation, is located on the west end of Manitoulin Island in the North Channel of Lake Huron. The hub provides traditional and scientific knowledge for youth, teaching them why clean water is so important.
Sewage pollution isn’t the biggest challenge at the Zhiibaahaasing First Nation Hub. Instead, the Zhiibaahaasing community sees debris like cigarette butts and styrofoam wash up on shore at the beaches on Manitoulin Island and Cockburn Island. The hub is able to notice changes in the waters and educate the community about litter and pollution.
“Through the Zhiibaahaasing First Nation Hub, I’ve helped my
community become more informed about the water.
I don’t think most people realize how much E. coli in the
water can vary in a small area. I also don’t think they realize
that the aesthetics of the sites don’t necessarily reflect how
much E. coli is in the water. Only water monitoring can tell us
where the water is clean or polluted.”
- Chelsea Antoine, Community Monitoring Coordinator, Zhiibaahaasing
Sewage is the problem. You are the solution.
Together we can make 2020 less sh*tty.
Problem: Sewage pollution
Did you know that we are dumping raw sewage into our water? In the 21st century!
CSOs, or combined sewer overflows, exist in every major city in Canada. Combined sewers are exactly what they sound like: underground pipes that combine both stormwater and sewage. When there is heavy rain or reduced capacity at wastewater treatment plants, these sewers discharge untreated sewage directly into our rivers, lakes, and oceans. Gross, right?
These antiquated systems overflow much more often than you’d think:
In 2017, 270 million cubic meters of sewage flowed into the natural waterbodies where people swim, fish, and paddle. That’s 100,000 olympic sized swimming pools of sewage in just one year.
Sewage in our waters is:
-
Bad for your physical health.
Every year, an estimated 400,000 Canadians get sick from
swimming in contaminated water.
- Bad for your mental health. 50% of Canadians have reported worsening mental health since the pandemic began. We need access to water and outdoor spaces to improve our mental health.
- Bad for the environment. Sewage outfalls destroy ecosystems and create dead zones that cannot sustain aquatic life. This also affects the fish that we eat and the water that we drink.
Solution: You
It doesn’t have to be this way. Your donation is part of the solution.
Swim Drink Fish has been connecting people with water since 2001. We employ twenty passionate individuals who are devoted to safeguarding your water. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on your donations to employ the amazing team that monitors your water and shares accessible water quality information with the public.
One of the ways we connect people to water is through citizen science. We test the water that you use for recreation, like beaches, marinas, and paddling courses. To know if water is clean enough for recreation, we need to collect samples on a regular basis.
Why? Because recreational water quality is like the weather — it changes all the time.
Your donation means we can:
- Connect you to your local waters
- Collect water samples and monitor water quality
- Share water health data
- Restore the places you love
That’s the recipe for a swimmable, drinkable, fishable future. That’s what we do.
