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Improving water quality in rural Saskatchewan
Some say the tap water in rural Saskatchewan is perfectly fine. Indeed, one government official termed a bitter tasting water in one town as “delicious”.
Developing Innovative Products
There is one rule that is dominating private industry right now. It is the requirement for innovative product development.
Is Unsafe Drinking Water Really Less Expensive?
The E. coli outbreak in Walkerton sent a wake-up call across Canada. Among rural residents, it instilled fear that the water their family is drinking may not be safe.
Public Service, Serving the Public?
During the past two years we have documented the concerns with rural drinking water in almost every issue of The Rural Councillor.
Safe Drinking Water at the Twist of a Wrist?
During a public address in October 1999 Saskatchewan’s Premier Mr. Roy Romanow made the following statement: “Here in Saskatchewan we have always placed a high priority on meeting the challenges of adequate water and wastewater systems to our citizens, urban and rural alike.”
Rural Canada - A Developing Country?
The provincial government in Saskatchewan both through its elected representatives and through its senior civil servants have tripped over each other to deny the obvious: that rural Saskatchewan has problems making high quality drinking water out of poor quality source waters.
Water Quality Requirement For Saskatchewan's Agri-Food Industry
PFRA commissioned a report with the above title. I wrote the report in collaboration with PFRA. Strategic funding was provided by the Canada-Saskatchewan Agri-Food Innovation Fund (Canada-Saskatchewan) and WateResearch Corp.
Water Warnings Are Not Enough
Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management (SERM) puts together a weekly list of boil water orders and boil water advisories.
Schizophrenia, cars and algal farming
On September 24 I had lunch with Dr. David Horrobin, a true innovator in Stirling, Scotland. Dr. David Horrobin was formerly CEO of Scotia Pharmaceuticals, a major British drug development company with one major research facility in Canada.
Dugouts, wells or pipelines?
Sixty years ago, in an effort to increase available water supplies on the Canadian prairies, the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Agency (PFRA) implemented a dugout construction program.
When Water Can Make You Ill
To determine if a water is safe for human consumption in rural areas it is common practice to measure two things, the amount of nitrates and total coliform bacteria in the water.
Protecting human health
Contaminants in the environment can affect how long a person will live and what illnesses that person will suffer.
Healthy Rural Living?
A national meeting of the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors was held May 10-12 in Saskatoon.
Algae that really are bacteria
As the temperature rises and the sun gets hot crops such as alfalfa, become green. This is because the plant pigment chlorophyll is present.
The Drinking Water Challenge
The definition of quality drinking water is universal: Drinking water should be clear, colourless and odourless. It should not contain disease-causing microorganisms (pathogens) or harmful chemicals.
What is in the water besides water?
The notion that only pure water is good for us is wrong. Most water contains basic elements, such as minerals, which are actually good for us.
Rural Water - City Water
When the drinking water in Saskatoon has even the slightest taste and odour city people phone and bitterly complain to the Water Treatment Plant.
Safe Drinking Water Foundation and Prairie Water
The Saskatchewan Government formed a working group to address water issues in 1994 and in 1998 they produced a booklet for public input.
Crystal Clear Drinking Water - the Red Tap Symbol
Rural water users around the world have two sources of water: surface water (dugouts, lakes and rivers) and ground water (well water).
Safe Drinking Water for Rural Saskatchewan
Safe drinking water has been on Hans Peterson’s mind for 10 years. Hans is the Principal Research Scientist with the Saskatchewan Research Council and in the spring of 1987 he started a project called “Algae in dugouts”.