Atlantic Ocean watershed

The Atlantic Ocean watershed spreads over all eastern Canada and covers an area of 1.6 million km².  It is dominated by the Great Lakes, namely Lakes Superior, Erie, Huron, Michigan and Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River, and includes the lakes and the rivers from the Atlantic coast such as the Churchill River (in Labrador) and the Saint John River (in New Brunswick).

 

• Status and trends in sediment quality of the Atlantic Ocean watershed  

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a vast shared resource containing a significant portion of the world's freshwater. They are fundamental to the well-being of many Canadians and Americans, as well as sustaining a rich variety of plants and animals. The Great Lakes provide the foundation for billions of dollars in economic activity, and they are a direct source of drinking water for millions of Canadians.

• International Joint Commission first triennial assessment of progress on Great Lakes water quality 2017
• State of the Great Lakes 2017
• Occurrence and distribution of carbamate pesticides and metalaxyl in southern Ontario surface waters 2007 to 2010
• Concentration and distribution of contaminants in lake trout and walleye from the Laurentian Great Lakes 2008 to 2012
• A new fluorinated surfactant contaminant in biota: perfluorobutane sulfonamide in several fish species
• Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health
• From the city to the lake: loadings of PCBs, PBDEs, PAHs and PCMs from Toronto to Lake Ontario
• Flame retardants and legacy chemicals in Great Lakes' water 2014
• Are mercury levels on the rise in Lake Erie fish?
• State of the Great Lakes 2011
• Perfluoroalkyl compounds in sediments of tributaries and open-water areas of the Great Lakes 2009
• Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in sediments of tributaries and open-water areas of the Great Lakes 2009
• Contaminants in sediments of Canadian tributaries and open-water areas of the lower Great Lakes 2007
• Niagara River upstream/downstream monitoring program report 2005

Lake Simcoe

• Lake Simcoe/South-eastern Georgian Bay Clean-Up Fund
• Phosphorus and deepwater oxygen relationships in Lake Simcoe 2011
• Special Issue of JGLR on Lake Simcoe Ontario Canada: multiple stressors and management challenges for large lakes 2011
• Lake Simcoe Clean-Up Fund: progress report 2008 to 2009

St. Lawrence River

The St. Lawrence River harbours a complex ecosystem whose physical properties vary from upstream to downstream. It includes lakes and freshwater reaches, a long estuary, and a gulf with marine features. The area is home to richly diverse habitats and an equally rich diversity of flora and fauna.

• St. Lawrence River: water and sediment
• Overview of the State of the St. Lawrence (2019) (PDF; 5.02 MB)
• St. Lawrence Monitoring Sheets

St. Croix River

The St. Croix River watershed covers an area of 1,649 square miles (4,271 km²) along the Canada and United States border between New Brunswick and Maine. The 110-mile (185 km) St. Croix River serves as a natural boundary between Canada and the United States. Because of its strategic location, the river has played a unique role in the history of Maritime Canada and the U.S. and remains important for these reasons today (CHRS 2007).

• International St. Croix River Watershed Board: annual report 2014
• St. Croix River: state of the watershed report
• St. Croix River at Milltown Dam: annual automated water quality monitoring report 2009
• St. Croix River at Forest City: annual automated water quality monitoring report 2009

Saint John River

The Saint John River, which has a rich history of colonization, commercial development, forestry, agriculture, and fishing, is the largest river basin in the Maritimes at 55,100 km². It’s headwaters originate in both the province of Quebec and the state of Maine and flows 673 km southeast through New Brunswick before reaching the Bay of Fundy.

• Big Presque Isle Stream at Tracey Mills: annual automated water quality monitoring report 2009

Churchill River

The Churchill River, the largest river within the Atlantic provinces, drains an area nearly 80,000 km² with an average discharge of 1,740 m³/sec. The Churchill is an important socio-economic resource as the site for Canada’s second largest hydroelectric facility, Churchill Falls, and assessments are currently underway for adding new hydroelectric facilities further downstream.

• Assessment of wastewater impacts in the Churchill River near Happy Valley-Goose Bay Labrador 2011