Part 2 (part 1 on protecting our lakes from our homes is posted Dec. 6, 2024 on Roseanne's Facebook)
It's terribly scary how toxins can leach into our big, beautiful Okanagan lakes destroying their life-giving ecology.
Much like the destructive climate changing pollution in our atmosphere; it鈥檚 unseen and it鈥檚 changing fast!
Most people don鈥檛 even know what鈥檚 happening to our water. We look at our lovely Okanagan lakes and can鈥檛 imagine a problem.
The good news is we each have the power to take practical steps to protect the water quality right from our properties.
Water flows downhill through our beautiful Okanagan Valley eventually into our large valley bottom lakes. Most of our lake water is replenished from higher upland snowpacks which then flows down through creeks and ground water.
But as our valley population grows, more and more water is consumed on its downward journey for orchards and other agricultural activities, landscaping, golf courses, wineries, and our homes and institutions for cleaning, cooking, drinking, watering, etc. Fortunately our upland water sources, creeks and streams are still relatively clean and healthy.
Increasingly more of us depend on valley lake water for household use and drinking. I鈥檓 in such a community. And that鈥檚 getting scary as the lake water gets increasingly contaminated.
Sadly we chose to buy our drinking water to avoid the potentially harmful Okanagan Lake water contaminants such as arsenic from insecticides, barium, aluminum, lead, zinc from tires, copper from brakes, nitrates from fertilizers, oil and grease, antifreeze, harmful bacteria from septic systems, estrogens and now microplastics.
Remember the water cycle! Water molecules continually transfer through air, soil, water, clouds, plants and animals. There鈥檚 lots of neat illustrations online.
Stay tuned for May's Okanagan Nature Nut column to get lots of easy, practical ideas to help protect our lakes right from our properties.
Check out the Okanagan Basin Water Board website at https://obwb.ca/library/ then choose publications especially Slow it. Spread it. Sink it!
Let鈥檚 care for and enjoy our lovely Okanagan lakes and keep its nature healthy.
P.S. Have you visited the heronry on 24th Street across from the Big Box Outlet? Take binoculars to watch these magnificent wild birds court before the leaves hide their nests. Kids love seeing them too. Enjoy!
Roseanne Van Ee enthusiastically shares her knowledge of the outdoors to help readers experience and enjoy nature. Follow her on Facebook.
