Introductory fact sheet to the Lake Winnipeg Basin Indicator Series.
Lake Winnipeg is the tenth largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area and the third largest freshwater reservoir. The Lake Winnipeg watershed encompasses four provinces and four states. The lake is important to Manitobans as a major commercial and subsistence fishery, a drinking water source for permanent and seasonal residents, as well as for recreation and tourism. Rivers can transport phosphorus, nitrogen, and suspended solids from throughout the basin to the lake. Point and non-point sources of pollutants such as municipal and industrial effluents and run-off from the land also go into the rivers. As a result, the lake is undergoing accelerated nutrient enrichment (eutrophication) and algal blooms are increasing in frequency and severity. Other considerations related to human activities within the Lake Winnipeg Basin include:
- water withdrawal;
- drainage;
- water diversions;
- soil erosion;
- agricultural practices; and
- changes in the extent of wetlands