Water flowing downhill carries with it an echo from the land it drains. Exposed soil means soil erosion and chemical spray means water-borne toxins. The health of the land surrounding a river has a direct reflection on the health of the river and our Island streams are telling us that the land is not at all healthy. Potato production has almost doubled in the past 10 years and farmers are slow to implement soil conservation practices. Most of it ends up in P.E.I. streams carrying with it chemicals used to control potato disease and insect pests.
Most Island rivers run red after a heavy rain and take days to clear up.
These are only some of the reasons that gave birth to the Round Table Report and its recommendations to protect Island waterways. The Round Table's report recommends riparian buffer zones of up to 30 metres of stable vegetation between row-cropped land and the river. The decision was based on research and the research stated that 30 metres was the minimum requirement. But the report also acknowledged buffer zones were not a complete answer and that conservation must begin on the land itself. The document was introduced with great fanfare in 1997 with the responsibility for implementation resting with government.