State of Environment Reporting

Trends in Water Quality

Surface Water Quality in British Columbia

Source: Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, 2001.

Water quality assessments in British Columbia show deteriorating quality at five of 47 water bodies sampled, most of which have at least 10 years of data. Causes of deterioration vary: Salmon River is affected by turbidity from non-point sources; Quamichan Lake by fecal contamination from naturally high waterfowl populations; Quinsam and Elk rivers by industrial effluent; and Kootney River by declining productivity due to low phosphorus caused by a nearby dam.