In Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), drinking water quality monitoring is conducted by the provincial government on all public water supply systems and results are communicated to communities on a quarterly basis. This paper describes the application of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Water Quality Index (CCME WQI) as a communications tool for reporting the drinking water quality results. The CCME WQI simplifies the communication of results while integrating local expert opinion, without challenging the integrity of the data. The NL Department of Environment and Conservation successfully tested the use of the CCME WQI on selected drinking water quality data sets, and developed a phased approach for its implementation as a practical means of presenting available physical, chemical, organic and microbiological results to communities. The CCME WQI index categorization schema was modified by adding a new ranking category to incorporate local expert opinion. This paper describes the development of the phased approach for calculating water quality indices, the testing methodology used, the rationale for modifying the existing CCME WQI index categorization schema, and the implementation of an automated CCME WQI calculator in the provincial drinking water quality database. The paper also discusses the challenges encountered in using the CCME WQI especially with respect to incorporation of contaminants, microbiological and trihalomethanes data. The benefits and downfalls of this application are also discussed.
Abstract:In this paper regression models are developed for predicting water temperature and the concentration of dissolved oxygen in rivers monitored by the Newfoundland and Labrador Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring (RTWQM) network. The developed models can be used to predict mean, maximum and minimum water temperatures and dissolved oxygen at the monthly, weekly and daily time scales. A nonlinear logistic model is found to best represent the S-shaped relationship between water temperature at the real-time stations and air temperature collected from meteorological stations 5-50 kilometers away. There is a clear tendency for monthly and weekly models to be more accurate for prediction than the daily models. Both linear and nonlinear exponential decay models were found to best represent the relationship between water temperature and dissolved oxygen at the real-time stations. A novel graphical method of linking air temperature to water temperature and dissolved oxygen has been developed and may prove to be a valuable simple tool in the assessment of the health of the rivers in the real-time network.Résumé : Ce papier décrit des modèles de régression qui prédisent la température de l'eau et la concentration d'oxygène dissous dans les rivières surveillées par le réseau Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador Real-Time Water Quality. On peut utiliser les modèles développés pour prédire les températures d'eau moyennes, maximales et minimales et les niveaux d'oxygène dissous dans l'eau aux échelles mensuelles, hebdomadaires et quotidiennes. Un modèle non-linéaire logistique représente mieux la relation entre la température de l'eau aux stations en temps réel et la température de l'air provenant des stations météorologiques de 5 à 50 kilomètres de distance. Il y a une tendance claire pour les modèles mensuels et hebdomadaires d'être plus précis pour la prédiction que les modèles quotidiens. Les modèles linéaires et non-linéaires de décroissance exponentielle représentent mieux la relation entre la température de l'eau et l'oxygène dissous aux stations en temps réel. Une nouvelle méthode graphique de relier la température de l'air à la température de l'eau et l'oxygène dissous a été développée; cette méthode devrait se révéler un outil précieux et simple pour évaluer la santé des rivières dans le réseau en temps réel.
Since its development in 2001, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) Water Quality Index (WQI) has established itself as a valuable tool for communicating ambient water quality data. Due to the high natural background levels of particular parameters in water bodies throughout the country it is often necessary to use Site-Specific Water Quality Guidelines (SS-WQGs) as opposed to generic national Water Quality Guidelines (WQGs) or provincial Water Quality Objectives (WQOs) in the CCME WQI model to obtain truly representative rankings. SS-WQGs have only been developed for a limited number of ambient water quality sites and this has been a major hurdle to the widespread use and acceptance of the CCME WQI. This paper presents the adaptation and implementation of an existing CCME-approved SS-WQGs derivation method called the background concentration (BC) procedure into a Site-Specific Water Quality Index (SS-WQI) calculator and tool. It discusses the application of the SS-WQI calculator to compute water quality indices for five pristine ambient water quality sites in Newfoundland and Labrador. The effects of using five different BC-based SS-WQGs (mean; median; mean ± one standard deviation; mean ± two standard deviations; 90th and 10th percentile) are examined. The paper also discusses the challenges and benefits of using this methodology and provides recommendations for further testing.
The Water Resources Management Division of the Department of Environment and Conservation performs routine water sampling to measure the physical and chemical parameters of select water bodies in Newfoundland and Labrador. Ionic concentration parameter measurement is performed during routine water sampling to complement some of the key indicator parameters measured in real time at these select water bodies. The collection, laboratory analysis and measurement of water samples is a time consuming process. Some of the common conducting ions measured during routine sampling are sodium, calcium, chloride and sulphate. These conducting ions can be estimated using continuously measured specific conductance after observing the effect of flow. The estimated measurement will help identify whether any local stressors are affecting the quality of water at a given point in time and hence save time and resources in performing routine sampling. This can also be applied in remote locations where routine sampling is not feasible. This paper compares four water bodies on the island part of Newfoundland and Labrador and estimates the ionic concentration using continuously measured specific conductance.
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