Environmental Trends 2002

Surface Water Quality

Surface Water Quality in British Columbia

SOURCE: Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, 2001. NOTES: These data were collected as part of the Canada – British Columbia Water Quality Monitoring Agreement. The trend analysis for the majority of stations is based on ten years of data collected from about the middle of the 1980s to the middle of the 1990s (the exact dates differ for each station). Although data continue to be collected the trends have not been analysed. The five stations listed as deteriorating are an exception and have been updated to 2000.

Trends in Water Quality

• Results of trend assessments at 53 water quality sampling stations for 47 waterbodies are shown on the map above. Most of the trends are based on ten years of data collected from the 1980s to the1990s.

• Five stations showed deteriorating water quality – Salmon River at Salmon Arm (turbidity from non-point sources), Quamichan Lake (fecal contamination from naturally high waterfowl populations), Quinsam and Elk rivers (industrial effluent), and Kootenay River (declining aquatic productivity due to low phosphorus caused by a dam).

• Discharges from mining operations have the potential to affect aquatic life in the Quinsam River and in the Elk River.

• Declining fisheries production in Kootenay and Arrow Lakes is a result of upstream dams, reservoirs and possibly the introduction of opossum shrimp. Nutrient fertilization efforts have been successful in Kootenay Lake and in Upper Arrow Lake.

• Non-point source pollution comes from many, diffuse sources. Pollution from agriculture, forestry and urban run-off, can degrade water quality for recreation, drinking water and aquatic life.

Why is it important?

• Protecting drinking water quality and maintaining the integrity of aquatic ecosystems are important environmental issues for British Columbians.

• British Columbia has 25% of the flowing fresh water in Canada. Ongoing monitoring, protection and careful management of these water resources are of critical importance.

What is being done?

• The government plans to improve drinking water source protection through the amended Drinking Water Protection Act and groundwater legislation.

• Monitoring is a key component of water management. The government is committed to increasing the number of surface water monitoring stations where trend reporting is possible. Initiatives around the province, such as the Salmon River Watershed Roundtable, are coordinating efforts to reduce and mitigate the effects of non-point source pollution.

For detailed information, including graph data, see In-Depth report [pdf].