The billions of litres of diluted human waste entering Winnipeg’s rivers in recent years are already wreaking havoc with animals and the environment, experts say.

These sewage spills are a key contributor to pollution that’s led entire species to disappear from Lake Winnipeg, where the rivers flow into, and killed hundreds of pet and livestock animals that drank water near algal blooms, said Eva Pip, a University of Winnipeg biology professor.

“We have no known lethal human cases in Manitoba but there are hundreds and hundreds of cases of animal deaths,” said Pip, who has studied Lake Winnipeg’s water quality for decades.

Pip notes algae-related toxins can be inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through human skin.

“Even after there is no longer a visible bloom, for the next few days, you can still have very high levels of toxins in the water,” she warns.

Pip called it “embarrassing” that political leaders over the past few decades haven’t taken quicker action to stop combined sewer overflows, since nitrogen and phosphorous within sewage promote algae growth on Lake Winnipeg.

And that’s just one of the threats sewage spills bring, Pip said.

“There are actually hundreds of threats ... It’s not just E. coli but all sorts of other pathogens that are also in the waste, all kinds of viruses, many, many types of bacteria, worm parasites. All of that is simply fed directly into the Red River without any (treatment),” said Pip. “When you bypass the plant, that means that everything goes into the river full strength.”

And unlike other sources of nitrogen and phosphorous, Pip said the fact there already is a clear solution to stop overflows completely, makes the city source one of the most straightforward to address.

“We know the city is one of the major contributors of nutrients to Lake Winnipeg. It’s really unacceptable,” she said. “You can see those algal blooms from space, for Pete’s sake.”

That’s why Pip and other water quality experts believe the city must commit to separate combined sewers completely to eliminate all overflows, even if that work is expected to cost between $2.8 billion and $4.1 billion.

“We really do have to switch our thinking about this and start realizing that our rivers and lakes can’t be treated like huge toilets, otherwise we’re going to condemn them to death,” said Vicki Burns of the Save Lake Winnipeg Project. “This is going to cost a huge amount of money but we need to get to it.”

Burns said not eliminating CSOs will only pass the problem on to future governments at an even greater price.

But Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital), who chairs the city’s water and waste committee, stressed some city work has started, even though the final CSO master plan still awaits a provincial response.

The city’s efforts include $300 million invested to reduce CSOs and basement flooding and another $110 million of already budgeted future investments.

“We have spent tens of millions. We’re continuing every year to keep working away at it,” said Mayes. “The speed at which we want to finish this is something this council is going to have to talk about. It’s part of the whole funding puzzle.”

Mayes believes the city should also consider whether pipes can be updated in co-ordination with road work, so that more cost-effective efforts may be possible each year.

jpursaga@sunmedia.com

Twitter: @pursagawpgsun