Water quality monitoring: the basis for watershed management in the Oldman River Basin, Canada

Abstract

The Oldman River flows 440 km from its headwaters in south-western Alberta, through mountains, foothills and plains into the South Saskatchewan River. Peak flows occur in May and June. Three major reservoirs, together with more than a dozen other structures, supply water to nine irrigation districts and other water users in the Oldman basin. Human activity in the basin includes forestry, recreation, oil and gas development, and agriculture, including a large number of confined livestock feeding operations. Based on the perception of basin residents that water quality was declining and of human health concern, the Oldman River Basin Water Quality Initiative was formed in 1997 to address the concerns. There was limited factual information, and at the time there was a desire for finger pointing. Results (1998-2002) show that mainstem water quality remains good whereas tributary water quality is more of a challenge. Key variables of concern are nutrients, bacteria and pesticides. Point source discharges are better understood and better regulated, whereas non-point source runoff requires more attention. Recent data on Cryptosporidium and Giardia species are providing benefit for focusing watershed management activities. The water quality data collected is providing a foundation to implement community-supported urban and rural better management practices to improve water quality.

Physiological stress response of Mountain Whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) and White Sucker (Catostomus commersoni) sampled along a gradient of temperature and agrichemicals in the Oldman River, Alberta

“…The gradient was used in this study as a model system for examining the effects of physico-chemical gradients on fish physiology. The distribution of fish along the river reflects the temperature gradient, as mainly cold-water species, such as Bull Trout (Koning et al 2006;Jeffries et al 2008) increase. Although OPs and CBs, pesticides with a short halflife, were not detected in the Oldman River in the present study, their effects, including AChE inhibition, may be detected even after a recovery period (Beauvais et al 2000) and trace amounts of different OPs and CB can have an effect on organisms because they act through a similar mechanism (Scholz et al 2006).…”

“…The Oldman River originates in the Rocky Mountains and flows east, draining an area of intensive grain and livestock production. Runoff from these operations contains agricultural chemicals including pesticides that have been detected in the Oldman River (Koning et al 2006; Alberta Environment Pesticide Monitoring Program, Table 2). Moreover, the river exhibits a west to east temperature gradient, with higher temperatures in the lower reaches (Fig.…”

A table for five: Stakeholder perceptions of water governance in Alberta

“…To address water quality issues in the Bow River Basin, the Bow River Basin Council (BRBC) was formed, establishing collaboration between stakeholders. In the Oldman River Basin, the Oldman River Basin Water Quality Initiative (ORB-WQI) was formed to lead a 5-year study between 1998 and 2003 to monitor the human impact on water quality in the Oldman basin (Koning et al, 2006). To further support sustainable water management, the Water Act was passed in 1999 and Basin Advisory Councils (BAC) were formed as public consultation bodies to assist the Government of Alberta in writing basin management plans.…”

Indicators for assessing environmental performance of watersheds in southern Alberta /

“…Individual point sources have been managed effectively by improving treatment of the effluent, reducing effluent volumes, or eliminating the discharge altogether, but management issues still arise when there are many point sources providing effluent loadings. Today in many watersheds in southern Alberta loadings of suspended sediments and nutrients are greater from non-point sources than from point sources (Byrne et al 2006, Koning et al 2006).…”

“…The two main groups of pathogens that are a concern for human health are protozoa and bacteria, and beyond monitoring total suspended solids as a general indicator for potential pathogen contamination, specific types of protozoa and bacteria may also be monitored by drinking water treatment plants to assess risk to human health (AENV 2006c). The protozoan parasites Giardia and Cryptosporidium are a particular concern in southern Alberta (Koning et al 2006), and some municipal water treatment plants in southern Alberta do monitor for these in raw water prior to treatment. Members of two bacteria groups, coliforms and faecal streptococci, are used as indicators of possible faecal contamination because they are commonly found in human and animal faeces (Mackie 2001 ).…”