The History of
Swim Drink Fish
Environmental Law Enforcement
1996
Walkerton Tragedy
2000
Environmental Law Enforcement
Founder, Mark Mattson, started a volunteer group dedicated to giving meaning and force to environmental laws. With a number of lawyers, water experts, and volunteers, they conducted their own investigations and brought private charges against polluters. Mattson knew from his work in environmental law that Ontario and Canada had (at the time) some of the best environmental protection rules in the world. The main problem was lack of enforcement. By investigating pollution and training others to do the same, Mattson discovered he could trigger a variety of environmental restoration activities promoting cleaner water, land, forest, and habitat.
Walkerton Tragedy
In the spring of 2000, seven people died and thousands became sick after drinking contaminated tap water in the town of Walkerton, Ontario. That tragic event became the catalyst for a new commitment to protecting water in Ontario and a personal call-to-action for the founders of Swim Drink Fish. Co-founders Mark Mattson and Krystyn Tully were swept up into the public inquiry to trace the origins of the pollution and develop new rules to ensure the protection of Ontario's drinking water supply.
Waterkeeper Alliance
2001
Waterkeeper Alliance
Although Mattson was one of the handful of people enforcing environmental laws in Canada, he found allies in the Waterkeeper Alliance USA. The association of independent Riverkeepers, Baykeepers, Soundkeepers patrolled and protected their local watersheds. Mattson and Tully decided to follow their lead and create a grassroots organization focused on protecting his local waterbody, named the Lake Ontario Waterkeeper.
Lake Ontario Waterkeeper
2001
Lake Ontario Waterkeeper
Lake Ontario Waterkeeper became an independent registered charity. Waterkeeper’s first major grant came from the Law Foundation of Ontario. The Foundation provided seed funding for the Clean Water Workshop, a program that trained pro bono law students to help develop environmental cases. Mark championed the Waterkeeper model in Canada and mentored law students working on cases for Lake Ontario Waterkeeper’s peers.
Fraser Riverkeeper
Mattson's mentor, Doug Chapman started Fraser Riverkeeper in Vancouver, supported by a talented young environmental lawyer named Lauren Brown Hornor.
Fraser Riverkeeper
2003
North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper
Karen and Kevin Lowe founded North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper in Edmonton.
“That’s when I realized we had a bigger problem than just pollution. Fewer and fewer people seemed to be spending time on the water, seeing how it was changing, wanting to protect it. The problems hadn’t gone away, but the public - the advocates - were disappearing.”
— Mark Mattson
North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper
2003
Environmental Law Rollbacks
Cuts to environmental programs began in Ontario in the 1990s and slowed slightly in the wake of Walkerton. Then again, around 2012, sweeping changes to federal laws gutted protections for the environment, especially water.
Up to that point, the Waterkeeper program had focused on training specialized advocates like young lawyers. They would identify a threat to water quality and participate in the appropriate formal process, like a private prosecution, an environmental assessment, or a licence review.
When sweeping changes to environmental law made those kinds of targeted interventions less powerful and less accessible, Mattson and Tully began looking for avenues and solutions beyond the legal process alone.
It was time to focus on building a broader movement of people with authentic connections to water who could work to safeguard a swimmable, drinkable, fishable future.
Environmental Law Rollbacks
2012
Becoming Swim Drink Fish
Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, Fraser Riverkeeper, and North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper all joined forces to become Swim Drink Fish.
Becoming Swim Drink Fish
2018
Swim Drink Fish today
Present
Swim Drink Fish
Swim Drink Fish today is an organisation that focuses on water quality monitoring and information sharing.