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Dan Gunderson

New project helps scientists better understand Red River's pollution in Canada

Lake Winnipeg shore
Increased phosphate and nitrate runoff from the Red River is one of the primary causes of more frequent and intense algae blooms in Canada's Lake Winnipeg.
Derek Montgomery for MPR News | File 2010

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A new research effort has assessed the amount of pollution the Red River sends to Canada.

The International Joint Commission, a collaboration between the U.S. and Canada established under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909, has incorporated U.S. and Canadian water data into a single computer model for the first time.

The data shows that Minnesota and North Dakota contribute about 60 percent of the phosphorus load in Lake Winnipeg.

IJC Senior Science Advisor Glenn Benoy said the information gives government officials a clearer picture of the phosphorus sources that are causing massive algae blooms in Lake Winnipeg.

"What we have now is essentially the model data to essentially verify estimates [from] the past of how much comes from the U. S. and how much comes from Canada," Benoy said.

The goal is for federal and local governments on both sides of the international border to use the data to find ways to reduce pollution flowing to the lake, he added.