{"id":4353,"date":"2026-07-15T14:18:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T18:18:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/?page_id=4353"},"modified":"2026-07-15T14:18:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T18:18:42","slug":"buis-explained-series","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/?page_id=4353","title":{"rendered":"BUIs Explained Series"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/DSCN0398_TSI-downstream-3-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3171\" srcset=\"http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/DSCN0398_TSI-downstream-3-1024x768.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/DSCN0398_TSI-downstream-3-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/DSCN0398_TSI-downstream-3-768x576.jpg 768w, http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/DSCN0398_TSI-downstream-3-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/DSCN0398_TSI-downstream-3-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/DSCN0398_TSI-downstream-3-350x263.jpg 350w, http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/DSCN0398_TSI-downstream-3-24x18.jpg 24w, http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/DSCN0398_TSI-downstream-3-36x27.jpg 36w, http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/DSCN0398_TSI-downstream-3-48x36.jpg 48w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Coming soon: a new way to explore the story of the St. Marys River, one Beneficial Use at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By late 2026 or early 2027, this webpage will host our BUIs Explained series: a clear, accessible guide to all 14 Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) that can be listed for any Great Lakes Area of Concern (AOC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not every BUI was impaired in the St. Marys River, but each one helps tell the bigger story of how we measure river health, track progress, and celebrate recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>What are Beneficial Use Impairments?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Beneficial Uses are the ways people, wildlife, and communities rely on a healthy river, like safe swimming, clean drinking water, thriving fish and wildlife, and vibrant waterfronts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) is recorded when one of those uses is significantly degraded. BUIs help communities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Identify problems:<\/strong> Where and how the river isn\u2019t meeting its potential.<\/li><li><strong>Guide action:<\/strong> What needs to be restored, cleaned up, or better managed.<\/li><li><strong>Measure progress:<\/strong> How far we\u2019ve come, and what\u2019s left to do.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>About this BUIs Explained Series<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This webpage will grow into a hub where you can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Learn about each of the 14 BUIs used across all Great Lakes AOCs.<\/li><li>Explore the history of each BUI in the St. Marys River, if it was ever listed as impaired, why, and what that meant locally.<\/li><li>See the current status of each BUI (for example: not impaired, impaired, in recovery, or removed).<\/li><li>Understand the science and the stories behind the data, including community actions, restoration projects, and policy changes.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if a BUI never applied to the St. Marys River, we\u2019ll still provide a short overview so you can see the full Great Lakes picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>The 14 Possible BUIs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Each of the following BUIs will have its own dedicated page in the series, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Plain-language explanation<\/li><li>Why it matters for people and ecosystems<\/li><li>St. Marys River history and status (where applicable)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ol><li><strong>Restrictions on fish and wildlife consumption<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Tainting of fish and wildlife flavour<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Degraded fish and wildlife populations<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Fish tumours or other deformities<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Bird or animal deformities or reproductive problems<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Degradation of benthos<\/strong> (bottom-dwelling organisms)<\/li><li><strong>Restrictions on dredging activities<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Eutrophication or undesirable algae<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Restrictions on drinking water consumption, or taste and odour problems<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Beach closings<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Degradation of aesthetics<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Added costs to agriculture or industry<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Degradation of phytoplankton and zooplankton populations<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Loss of fish and wildlife habitat<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>What You\u2019ll Be Able To Explore For Each BUI<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>For every BUI page, you can expect:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Overview:<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>What this BUI means in everyday language, and how it\u2019s used across Great Lakes AOCs.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>History in the St. Marys River:<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Whether this BUI was ever listed as impaired here, what caused the concern, and how the community, partners, and agencies responded.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Current status:<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>A clear summary of where things stand now\u2014such as whether the BUI was never impaired, remains impaired, is in recovery, or has been officially removed.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What changed on the ground:<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Key projects, policy shifts, and community actions that helped improve conditions.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What this means for you:<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>How progress on this BUI affects recreation, local economies, cultural connections, and ecosystem health.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Timeline and Updates<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This BUIs Explained series is expected to be <strong>completed by late 2026 or early 2027<\/strong>. Content will be added in phases as technical reviews, data, and status updates are finalized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Why This Matters<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Understanding BUIs is about more than checklists and technical reports, it\u2019s about:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Connecting community experience to science<\/li><li>Recognizing decades of restoration work<\/li><li>Celebrating milestones as BUIs are improved or removed<\/li><li>Seeing what\u2019s still needed to support a healthy, resilient St. Marys River<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As this series grows, it will become a living record of how far the river has come and a guide for where we go next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Coming soon: a new way to explore the story of the St. Marys River, one Beneficial Use at a time. By late 2026 or early 2027, this webpage will host <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/?page_id=4353\">Continue Reading &amp;rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4353"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4353"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4354,"href":"http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4353\/revisions\/4354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/bpac.algomau.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}