Table A.3
Selected indicators of pressures on water quality by drainage region

Table A.3
Selected indicators of pressures on water quality by drainage region
Table summary
This table displays the results of Selected indicators of pressures on water quality by drainage region code, Residual soil nitrogen on agricultural land, 2011, Residual soil nitrogen on agricultural land, normalized across the total area of the drainage region, 2011, Risk of phosphorus release from agricultural soils, 2011, Risk of phosphorus release from agricultural soils, normalized across the total area of the drainage region, 2011, Nitrogen emissions, National Pollutant Release Inventory, 2014, Phosphorus emissions, National Pollutant Release Inventory, 2014 and Median monthly maximum turbidity, 2013, calculated using kg/ha, kg/km2, mg/kg, tonnes and nephelometric turbidity units units of measure (appearing as column headers).
  code Residual soil nitrogen on agricultural land, 2011Table A.3 Note 1 Residual soil nitrogen on agricultural land, normalized across the total area of the drainage region, 2011Table A.3 Note 1 Risk of phosphorus release from agricultural soils, 2011Table A.3 Note 1 Risk of phosphorus release from agricultural soils, normalized across the total area of the drainage region, 2011Table A.3 Note 1 Nitrogen emissions, National Pollutant Release Inventory, 2014Table A.3 Note 2 Phosphorus emissions, National Pollutant Release Inventory, 2014Table A.3 Note 2 Median monthly maximum turbidity, 2013Table A.3 Note 3
kg/ha kg/km2 mg/kg mg/kg tonnes nephelometric turbidity units
Canada Note ...: not applicable 23.2 133.4 1.7 0.0 754,011 40,443 Note ..: not available for a specific reference period
Pacific Coastal 1 22.0 6.8 2.9 0.0 10,390 493 0.9
Fraser–Lower Mainland 2 23.2 105.5 3.3 0.0 26,489 34,660 1.4
Okanagan–Similkameen 3 20.3 184.5 2.6 0.0 201 0 1.4
Columbia 4 21.4 30.2 2.5 0.0 2,468 1,373 0.7
Yukon 5 Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable 0 0 Note ..: not available for a specific reference period
Peace–Athabasca 6 25.4 215.1 1.6 0.0 155,828 133 5.0
Lower Mackenzie 7 26.8 0.1 1.5 0.0 22,559 0 4.6
Arctic Coast–Islands 8 Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable 7,607 0 Note F: too unreliable to be published
Missouri 9 11.1 922.5 1.6 1.1 16,289 0 Note F: too unreliable to be published
North Saskatchewan 10 20.0 1,314.5 1.5 0.6 127,820 82 9.0
South Saskatchewan 11 14.2 1,099.9 1.8 1.1 107,769 331 6.3
Assiniboine–Red 12 24.7 1,822.4 1.3 0.7 30,260 524 7.7
Winnipeg 13 31.6 30.3 1.8 0.0 1,703 47 2.4
Lower Saskatchewan–Nelson 14 29.4 337.0 1.3 0.0 1,427 10 20.9
Churchill 15 28.0 94.9 1.6 0.0 12,724 0 4.5
Keewatin–Southern Baffin Island 16 Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable 1,327 0 Note F: too unreliable to be published
Northern Ontario 17 25.4 1.6 2.9 0.0 6,543 19 4.9
Northern Quebec 18 25.0 1.1 3.5 0.0 5,169 13 Note F: too unreliable to be published
Great Lakes 19 37.5 405.6 1.8 0.0 106,099 781 5.0
Ottawa 20 33.2 172.6 2.2 0.0 11,648 139 4.1
St. Lawrence 21 51.8 690.5 3.5 0.1 33,914 890 9.8
North Shore–Gaspé 22 59.8 38.2 2.2 0.0 14,609 195 1.5
Saint John–St. Croix 23 37.2 142.0 3.5 0.0 9,179 228 1.1
Maritime Coastal 24 37.0 128.1 3.2 0.0 29,272 375 1.4
Newfoundland-Labrador 25 56.0 1.6 6.3 0.0 12,718 149 0.7
Newfoundland (Island)Table A.3 Note 4 Note ...: not applicable 56.0 5.5 6.3 0.0 5,573 148 Note ..: not available for a specific reference period
.. not available for a specific reference period
... not applicable
F too unreliable to be published
Note 1.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada produces agri-environmental indicators on residual soil nitrogen (RSN) and the risk of phosphorus release (P-source). The RSN indicator provides an estimate of the amount of nitrogen in agricultural soils, in kilograms per hectare, in 2011. RSN accounts for atmospheric deposition, nitrogen fixation, crop inputs (fertilizer and manure), crop removals (harvesting) and gaseous losses of ammonia, nitrous oxide and nitrogen gas. The P-source is the amount of water extractable phosphorus potentially released from agricultural soils in a given year, in milligrams per kilogram. Agricultural land is taken from the Interpolated Census of Agriculture and includes cropland, summerfallow, tame or seeded pasture and natural land for pasture. It excludes other land (e.g., woodlots, wetlands and land occupied by buildings) on farms.

Return to note 1 referrer

Note 2.

Direct emissions from industrial facilities to air, land and water reported to the National Pollutant Release Inventory in 2014, excluding offshore facilities. For nitrogen, substances include ammonia, nitrate ion in solution, nitric acid and nitrogen oxides. For phosphorous, substances include total phosphorous and yellow phosphorous. Substances are reported in tonnes.

Return to note 2 referrer

Note 3.

Turbidity is a measure of the relative clarity of water measured in nephelometric turbidity units (NTU). Data are for raw surface water sources from drinking water facilities that reported turbidity data for at least 10 months in 2013.

Return to note 3 referrer

Note 4.

Data for Newfoundland (Island) are disaggregated from the Newfoundland–Labrador drainage region because data on the variability index, monthly water yield and trends in water yield over time are only available for this portion of the region.

Return to note 4 referrer

Sources: Statistics Canada, Environment, Energy and Transportation Statistics Division, 2017, special tabulation from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), 2015, Agri-environmental Indicator Residual Soil Nitrogen (RSN), (accessed September 28, 2016); AAFC, 2015, Agri-environmental Indicator, Risk of P release in agricultural land (P-Source), (accessed September 28, 2016); Environment and Climate Change Canada, 2015, National Pollutant Release Inventory, Pollution Data and Reports, (accessed August 24, 2016); Statistics Canada, 2015, "Source water quality, 2013," Environment Fact Sheets, Catalogue no. 16-508-X.
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