Water monitoring on deck for river
Small hike in utility bill to fund hunt for source of contaminants
River enthusiasts want to see more perfect swimming days on Edmonton’s North Saskatchewan River and hope a new multimilliondollar river monitoring program might help.
It’s being funded by a 10- to 15cent monthly environment charge on residential water bills to create a $1-million annual fund and is supported by staff time, equipment and other in-kind support from Alberta Environment worth up to $2 million.
Currently, the river is normally clean enough to swim in anytime the water is clear, because it’s the heavy rainstorms that both increase the brown silt and wash pollutants down from the fields and roads, said Epcor’s watershed expert Steph Neufeld. But a lack of monitoring means when that load of pollutants, ammonia or silt increases in the river, no one can say exactly where it’s coming from.
It might be increased forestry on a tributary like the Clearwater River or Cline River, or new residential construction around an upstream town. This monitoring program should finally be able to pinpoint those changes. It will also help Epcor anticipate water quality in the future and know what new infrastructure might be needed.
“It’s necessary,” said Neufeld. “This monitoring program will be assessing the main stem, about 20 sites on the main stem and 20 tributaries that flow into the main stem, all the way from the headwaters to the Saskatchewan border.”
Neufeld’s been planning the program with Alberta Environment, the local watershed council and several environmental organizations, and suggested it could help set targets for treatment of stormwater run-off, or more careful forestry or oil and gas practices, if those are what’s impacting the river.
Edmonton residents will see the cost in an environmental charge, which also supports Epcor’s proposed solar farm near Cameron Heights.
Experts are hoping it’s a more sustainable way to run a monitoring program. The province used to watch the water quality closely in the 1980s but cut the budget through the 1990s and has seen spotty or project-based monitoring efforts ever since.
Right now, Alberta Environment has five locations where it does monthly water quality tests. The river is 1,000 kilometres long between the headwaters and the Saskatchewan border, said Neufeld. “That’s very few data points.”
The headwaters of the North Saskatchewan River are in the mountains and foothills west of Edmonton. Roughly 90 to 95 per cent of the water is already in the river before it flows past Drayton Valley, said Neufeld. The land around those early sources is in a pretty natural state. Only 27 per cent has been changed by humans — the seismic lines, forestry cut blocks and residential areas, she said.
In terms of what’s in the river, some of the silt and pathogens are natural. Beaver feces, for example, can have cryptosporidium, a parasite that can lead to severe diarrhea. But there are also heavy metals, fertilizer and other human-related pathogens that can come from the 14 sewage lagoons up river and other run-off. All of that is more likely to be found in the river when the water is high and rain or spring runoff has just washed contaminants off the land.
Neufeld swims in the river when it’s clear, even while pregnant. She often takes a dip near the Walterdale Bridge just after work and swims with the Element triathlon club. The club used to swim at Hubbles Lake west of the city, but it’s a long drive and club members got swimmers’ itch from snails in the lake.
“It’s quite safe. Elise (Gaudet-MacKenzie, the leader) asks all the time if it’s OK to go in. She’s pretty good now at reading it. If there’s not a lot of turbidity and it hasn’t rained, she’ll take the club in.”
They wear wetsuits for warmth on the 90-minute swim, have individual safety buoys floating after them for visibility and in case someone runs into trouble, always swim in groups. Moving water can be more challenging than the still water in lakes and pools for new swimmers, said Neufeld.
Hans Asfeldt, with the not-forprofit environmental group the North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper, is excited about the new monitoring and said his group will be lobbying to make the data as public, accessible and transparent as possible.
“We need to protect it and make sure the water is good for use, for future generations and communities downstream,” he said. “We need to know what’s happening.”