The importance of the South Saskatchewan River was recognized on Sunday as part of World Rivers Day.
This day is an annual celebration held in more than 60 countries to educate people on the importance of rivers and why we need to take care of them. Saskatoon’s event was hosted by the Meewasin Valley Authority.
Sue Bouchard, the education and communications officer for Partners FOR the Saskatchewan River Basin, reminded Saskatoon residents that the South Saskatchewan River is the city’s main water source.
“The water gets drawn out of the river and cleaned and delivered to our taps, so we’re pretty lucky. We take it for granted. We turn our taps on and have fresh water,” she said.
“We just need to take more care of it.”
One way to keep the river clean is to be cautious of what goes down the storm drains, as this goes into the river without being treated first, said Bouchard.
Kenton Lysak with the Meewasin Valley Authority agreed.
“We should make sure we’re not dumping oil or dumping paint cans or something down the storm water drains,” she said.
“It directly affects the health of our river valley, which is some of the more beautiful areas in the city of Saskatoon.”
