Freshwater Quality Data
- National freshwater quality indicator for the 2008 to 2010 period, Canada
- National freshwater quality indicator change between 2003-05 and 2008-10, Canada
- Freshwater quality in drainage regions for the 2008 to 2010 period, Canada
- Freshwater quality by land use category for the 2008 to 2010 period, Canada
| Water quality category | Number of core stations | Percentage of core stations |
|---|---|---|
Poor | 2 | 1 |
Marginal | 28 | 16 |
Fair | 67 | 39 |
Good | 66 | 38 |
Excellent | 9 | 5 |
Total | 172 | 100 |
Note: Freshwater quality was assessed at 172 stations throughout Canada's 16 drainage regions where human activity is most intensive, using the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment's Water Quality Index.
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| Sampling period | Poor (Percentage of stations) | Marginal (Percentage of stations) | Fair (Percentage of stations) | Good (Percentage of stations) | Excellent (Percentage of stations) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003-05 | 3 | 25 | 39 | 30 | 4 |
2004-06 | 4 | 23 | 36 | 32 | 6 |
2005-07 | 5 | 20 | 35 | 33 | 8 |
2006-08 | 5 | 18 | 40 | 33 | 5 |
2007-09 | 5 | 17 | 42 | 29 | 8 |
2008-10 | 2 | 18 | 41 | 33 | 7 |
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| Change | Number of stations |
|---|---|
Improving | 12 |
Declining | 3 |
No change detected | 86 |
Total | 101 |
Note: Change in the indicator between the 2003-05 and 2008-10 periods was assessed at 101 stations in 16 drainage regions across Canada where historical data were available. For each station, change in the indicator was assessed using a consistent set of guidelines and parameters through time.
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| Drainage region and ID | Poor (Number of stations) | Marginal (Number of stations) | Fair (Number of stations) | Good (Number of stations) | Excellent (Number of stations) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pacific Coastal (01) | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Fraser–Lower Mainland (02) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Okanagan–Similkameen (03) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Columbia (04) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
Peace–Athabasca (06) | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
North Saskatchewan (10) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
South Saskatchewan (11) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
Assiniboine–Red (12) and Winnipeg (13) | 0 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
Lower Saskatchewan–Nelson (14) | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 0 |
Great Lakes (19) | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 0 |
Ottawa River (20) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
St. Lawrence (21) | 2 | 9 | 12 | 5 | 0 |
Saint John–St. Croix (23) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
Maritime Coastal (24) | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 1 |
Newfoundland–Labrador (25) | 0 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 1 |
Note: Care must be taken when comparing regions, because different parameters and guidelines are used to assess water quality among provinces and territories. The Winnipeg drainage region is included in the Assiniboine-Red drainage region because it contains only one core station.
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| Land use category | Poor (Number of stations) | Marginal (Number of stations) | Fair (Number of stations) | Good (Number of stations) | Excellent (Number of stations) | Total (Number of stations) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Agriculture | 0 | 8 | 19 | 9 | 1 | 37 |
Mining | 0 | 3 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 27 |
Mixed | 2 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 0 | 50 |
Remote | 0 | 1 | 16 | 33 | 6 | 56 |
Total | 2 | 28 | 65 | 66 | 9 | 170 |
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