Future improvements

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This report provides information on the status of water quality in Canada as it relates to its ability to support aquatic life. The preliminary indicator reported here will be improved in future reports.

Long-term goals for the development of the freshwater indicator include:

• a consistent and comparable set of monitoring sites that is representative of key aquatic habitats (e.g., rivers, lakes, wetlands) in Canada with respect to different beneficial uses (e.g., protection of aquatic life, agriculture, source water for drinking);

• improvements in selecting parameters and guidelines used in the calculation, so that results can be aggregated regionally across the country, by drainage area and over time;

• more refined separation of the effects of natural and human-caused changes in water quality through the development of site-specific guidelines; and

• reporting on water quality for other beneficial uses, such as agriculture or raw water sources used to supply drinking water treatment plants, possibly through a series of indicators.

The following specific improvements are planned in relation to monitoring, indicator development, guideline development, and surveys:

Monitoring: Freshwater quality monitoring capacity is limited and considerably fragmented across the country, with significant spatial gaps. Over the next few years, Environment Canada, in collaboration with provincial and territorial counterparts, will expand the current water quality monitoring network to address these spatial gaps in knowledge. This, in turn, will also enhance the national representation of water bodies and aquatic habitats throughout the country. Efforts are being made collectively to identify areas of Canada that are underrepresented in the network and set priorities for increased monitoring activity. For example, key sites in southern Saskatchewan will be included in the 2007 indicator report. Another consideration in the selection of monitoring locations will be the coordination of monitoring sites and water quality parameters (where possible) to enable data collection for multiple indicators for different water uses. For example, a river monitoring site may be selected upstream from a raw¹ water intake of a water treatment plant, to enable data to be used for both the aquatic life and source water quality indicators.

The water quality indicator is currently based on measurements of physical and chemical parameters in water. Measuring biological components of a water body (e.g., benthic invertebrates) can also provide important insights into water quality and aquatic ecosystem health. Methods for incorporating biological data are being examined for future indicator reporting.

Indicator development: Work is being carried out on methods to improve the calculation and presentation of the current indicator, as there is a need to both compensate for the unbalanced geographical distribution of monitoring sites and present trends over time. The current geographical distribution of sites will be reviewed in an attempt to adopt a more systematic approach to selecting sites, and weights will be allocated to each of these sites. Also, a different way of compiling the indicator, possibly based on one-year versus three-year periods, will be adopted to report trends in water quality.

Detailed work at specific sites will be required to identify the causes of changes in water quality or to determine the reasons why water quality samples exceed guidelines. More study is also needed across Canada to link the water quality ratings at individual monitoring sites to specific human activities and natural processes.

Health Canada initiated development of the source/raw water quality indicator in October 2005 in cooperation with a federal/provincial/territorial working group. The scope of the project was broadened to include a treated water quality indicator to facilitate communication to the public on the quality of the water they drink. The overall aim of this project is to have a means of measuring, tracking, and reporting on both source (raw) and treated water quality. The new information will help to evaluate the effectiveness of source water protection initiatives, guide source water protection planning and activities, and identify the presence of gaps in the multiple barrier approach.²  The project is scheduled to be completed by spring 2007.

The WQI will also be used to assess and report the suitability of water quality for other major uses, such as irrigation and livestock watering in the agricultural sector. This analysis will then be incorporated into the freshwater indicator.

Guideline development: How well the WQI rates water quality depends directly on the use of appropriate water quality parameters and guidelines. Parameters and guidelines used in the WQI computation should be locally relevant, meaning appropriate to the local organisms and local water characteristics. For example, water hardness and temperature can affect the toxicity of some substances; therefore, guidelines for these substances should vary according to water hardness and temperature. Environment Canada, in consultation with the provinces and territories, is assessing the ecological relevance of existing guidelines with regard to local conditions and, where necessary, will develop site-specific guidelines using nationally consistent methods and protocols. Options for a more consistent selection of parameters among jurisdictions are being evaluated as well. Investments may be needed to measure more parameters at some locations and to develop guidelines for other key substances.

Surveys: The effects of household and industrial activities on water quality as well as the needs of households and industry for high-quality water are being documented through several new national surveys. Results from the Households and the Environment Survey will provide information on household activities that can impact water quality and changes in household behaviour in response to water quality concerns. In addition, the Industrial Water Use Survey will collect information on water use and management from manufacturers, thermal power generators, and mines. A survey of municipal water treatment plants is planned, which will support the Source Water Quality Indicator. A survey of agricultural water use is also under development.

Notes

1. Water in its natural state, prior to any treatment.

2. An integrated system of procedures, processes, and tools that collectively prevent or reduce the contamination of drinking water from source to tap in order to reduce risks to public health.