Bow River News - May 15th, 2007

1. Support Bow Riverkeeper and watch the WATERWALKER Film Festival!

Support Bow Riverkeeper and have fun watching a collection of the best canoeing, kayaking, and environmental films of the year! On Friday, May 18th at Mount Royal College in Jenkins Theatre, starting at 7:00 pm, the WATERWALKER Film Festival will be shown in Calgary for one night only! Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door. They are available in person at Undercurrents or by phone at 262-GEAR. There is a "Will Call" at the door. All proceeds will benefit Bow Riverkeeper.

Read more: http://www.bowriverkeeper.org/node/132

2. What's in your tap water and what can you do about it?

In an ideal world, we shouldn't have to filter our drinking water - or we should only have to filter it minimally to remove naturally occurring micro-organisms or contaminants. But the reality of our lives, amidst residential and economic development, means filtration of our water to remove naturally occurring and human-sourced contaminants is important for our health. Read more to find out what's in your water, various ways to treat our water, a little history about water treatment and filtration, and what you can do to improve the quality of your water.

Read more: http://www.bowriverkeeper.org/node/131

3. Upcoming Web Workshop: Groundwater Basics!

Bow Riverkeeper in partnership with Alberta Ecotrust continues its web workshop series on water issues. The next workshops will address groundwater. While no dates have been set, Bow Riverkeeper plans on a second and third webinar on groundwater in June 2007. Read more for descriptions of the upcoming groundwater webinars.

Read more: http://www.bowriverkeeper.org/node/130

4. New Article on the Next Steps for Cumulative Effects Management in Alberta's Athabasca Oil Sands Region

Are you concerned about the environmental and cumulative effects of oil sands development in northeastern Alberta? Do you wonder about the status of governance around these issues and how that status might change for the better? Steve Kennett's article, entitled "Next Steps for Cumulative Effects Management in Alberta's Athabasca Oil Sands Region", discusses the history and status of two important initiatives intended to improve cumulative effects management in Alberta's Athabasca oil sands region: Cumulative Environmental Management Association (CEMA) and Alberta's Regional Sustainable Development Strategy (RSDS).

Read more: http://www.bowriverkeeper.org/node/129

5. Water for Life Review Issued by Alberta Water Council – Next Steps from Our Perspective

On May 1, 2006 the Alberta Water Council released its review of success of the Water for Life strategy. Bow Riverkeeper, a member of the Alberta Water Council representing the Alberta Environmental Network, participated in production of this report. While there has been progress on the Water for Life strategy, there is much more work to be done. In the next year, Bow Riverkeeper will raise key issues through a renewal of Water For Life process, including the need to focus more attention on the strategy's promise to protect aquatic ecosystems and the need for more source water protection.

Read more: http://www.bowriverkeeper.org/node/128