Canada Water Act annual report for 2016 to 2017: chapter 2

2 Data collection and use

2.1 Water quantity monitoring

The National Hydrometric Program (NHP) is responsible for providing critical hydrometric data, information, and knowledge that Canadians and their institutions need to make informed water management decisions that provide protection and careful stewardship of freshwater as a precious shared resource. This data is made available on the water level and flow web section.

The NHP is co-managed by the National Administrators Table (NAT) and the NHP Coordinators’ Committee, both consisting of members responsible for the administration of hydrometric monitoring agreements in each province or territory and one national administrator designated by Canada. Both groups met regularly throughout 2016–2017 to discuss program issues. Regular input from both groups and an annual survey of NAT provide valuable input on program operations, documentation and dissemination practices, and available training resources for the NHP.

The Water Survey of Canada which is part of ECCC’s National Hydrological Service (NHS) is the federal partner and primary operator of the NHP network in Canada.  

2.1.1 National monitoring network

During 2016–2017, the national monitoring network of the NHP in Canada consisted of 2793 hydrometric monitoring stations (see Figure 2 and Table 1). During this period, ECCC, operated 2156 of these hydrometric stations. Out of the ECCC-operated stations, 1148 were fully or partially federally funded, and the remaining were operated by ECCC on behalf of the provincial and territorial collaborators or a third-party interest, and cost-shared according to specific needs and requirements (see Table 1). In Quebec, the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight against Climate Change operated 227 stations, some funded in whole or in part by the Government of Canada. ECCC disseminates the data collected from Quebec, along with data from another 409 stations operated by parties other than ECCC, across Canada.

Figure 2: National Hydrometric Monitoring Network

^a Hydrometric monitoring stations located within the boundaries of each province, no matter which office operates them.

^b Cost-shared stations are those that are partially funded by the federal and the provincial/territorial governments. The cost-share ratio varies by station.

Note: The network also includes a small number of designated International gauging Stations located in the United States that are not included here as they support International Joint Commission activities not covered under the CWA.

In 2016–2017, compliance with the new Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations made pursuant to the federal Fisheries Act resulted in additional ‘time on site’ for field technologists, restructuring of field trips/areas, as well as additional dedicated monitoring and decontamination equipment. There were no significant changes to the size of the national hydrometric network, although the network did undergo a number of adjustments, including the following:

Yukon

• Big Salmon River near Carmacks; Sidney Creek at km 46 South Canol Road; Liard River above Scurvy Creek; Sister Creek at km 426 Dempster Highway; and Caribou Creek above Babbage River.
• In May 2016, a Yukon River basin experienced a geologic event - river piracy - which is rarely observed in real-time. The Slims River, which drains into Kluane Lake, had its flow diverted as a result of the retreat of the Kaskawulsh Glacier^{Footnote 1}. Due to this event, Kluane Lake (gauged), which is the largest lake in the Yukon Territory, experienced the lowest peak water level on record. Unfortunately, the lake outlet, Kluane River (decommissioned), is ungauged and therefore the downstream effect(s), including potential seasonal cessation of flow, are unknown.
• Two new Yukon stations were installed and are operated by Inuvik staff from NWT for operational efficiencies in 2016–2017; Babbage River below Caribou Creek; and Caribou Creek above Babbage River.

Northwest Territories

Nunavut

British Columbia

Alberta

• One hydrometric station (Clearwater River at Draper) was destroyed by a fire in Fort McMurray and rebuilt over the summer.
• Whirling disease^{Footnote 2} was discovered in Banff National Park, initially affecting the Bow basin. It currently impacts two basins (Bow and Oldman), affecting 41 hydrometric stations. These require the restructuring of field circuits and dedicated equipment to follow the protocols developed to prevent the spread of this invasive disease. A decontamination facility for gear and equipment was constructed at the ECCC warehouse.
• Operations were suspended at 89 of 91 manned cableways in Alberta pending an operational review and engineering inspection. The two operational cableways are: St. Mary River at International Boundary and Berland River near the Mouth.
• Construction in Alberta has been minimal or non-existent for some time, resulting in a large backlog of projects including the decommissioning of stations, rebuilding of cableways and life cycle management.
• Five gauging shelters that still require bank operated cableways for high water measurements were constructed and added to the oil sands monitoring network as commercial stations. Sixteen stations are now operated by ECCC as part of the monitoring program in the oil sands region.

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

Ontario

Quebec

Atlantic Region

2.1.2 Technology development

The NHP continued its investment in new field technologies, including hydroacoustic equipment and advanced deployment platforms, such as remote bank operated cableway systems and remote control boats, as manned cableways across the country are being decommissioned. Work continues on refining and adopting new standard operating procedures and methods to ensure these advanced measurement techniques provide accurate and reliable data, while maintaining and improving safe work practices.

An innovative project involving the in-house design and development of a stand-alone software application called electronic Hydrometric Survey Notes (eHSN), became fully operational in 2016–2017. The eHSN aims to modernize traditional Hydrometric Survey Notes from a paper-based system to a more standardized digital system. The eHSN is used operationally by field technologists to document and digitally transfer hydrometric field activities quickly and efficiently. Overall, the eHSN allows for more rapid data uploading and sharing, better data integrity and helps establish nationally consistent standards. It also better positions ECCC field data outputs towards internationally recognized data exchange formats.

In 2016–2017 there was also a dramatic increase in the use of fixed (station-based) cameras for improving field visit planning, site logistics and safety, data computations, and public/partner interest in general.

Hydrometric Data Systems

ECCC is working towards more fully automating data transfer so that data only has to be touched once and bringing all ECCC gauging stations to a common datum and using remote sensing to detect and measure surface water.

ECCC is also leading a height modernization^{Footnote 3}  project, with the first pilot being undertaken in Saskatchewan. Elevation information contributes to informed decision making and impacts a wide range of important activities including mapping and charting, flood risk determination, transportation, land use and ecosystem management. This project has been advanced through partner funding and leveraging hardware and logistical coordination with Natural Resources Canada.

Surface Water from Space project                                                   

The Government Related Initiatives Program funded Surface Water from Space project ended in 2016. The project was successful in finding an operational means of extracting surface water from space. A peer reviewed paper was published in the open source journal “Remote Sensing” by Bolanos, S.; Stiff, D.; Brisco, B.; and Pietroniro, A. entitled “Operational Surface Water Detection and Monitoring Using Radarsat 2”. This work will be leveraged in the Radarsat constellation mission Data Utilization & Application Plan project in 2017–2018 and 2019–2020.

Geospatial data products

In March 2017, the NHP published a set of polygons, representing the drainage areas of most active discharge stations within the national hydrometric network, through the Government of Canada’s Open Maps portal. The NHS Basin Polygon dataset is a compilation of datasets collected from a number of contributing partners, including ECCC, provinces, territories and other federal government departments. The data are available as a webservice that can be accessed through any standard Geographic Information System package.

The NHS Basin Polygon dataset will play a key role in the upcoming re-evaluation of the Reference Hydrometric Basin Network (RHBN). The RHBN is a sub-set of the national network that has been identified for use in the detection, monitoring and assessment of climate change. It is part of Canada’s contribution to the Global Climate Observing System. The original network was designed in 1999 and updated periodically. NHS is working to modernize the evaluation process for identification of RHBN stations.

Data dissemination

The Hydrometric Data Management Integration and Renewal (HyDMIR) project has two phases. Phase 1, released on January 10, 2017, was designed to build a more efficient and robust dissemination system for real-time hydrometric data, as well as to decommission legacy infrastructure and software. Phase 2, released in March, 2017, was designed to renew the Hydex (metadata) interface and to streamline the HYDAT service to facilitate collaborators’ automatic access to data. This service will replace the current web service and email service. The full transition to the new web service is scheduled for after the 2017 flooding season.

The NHP continued to maintain its International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification during 2016–2017. Updating of ECCC's Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) continued in 2016–2017, keeping pace with changes in technology in the operational program.

Hydrometric science and development

In 2016–2017, ECCC and particularly NHS staff have been heavily involved with the University of Saskatchewan, University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and McMaster University through the Global Water Futures Program to collaborate in the important area of innovation in hydrology that would assist ECCC in its water management and hydrometric activities. 

ECCC has continued collaborations with university colleagues in Quebec (L'Institut national de la recherche scientifique) in operationalizing hydro-dynamic and hydro-ecological models in rivers of federal significance and remains committed to advancements in those fields.

ECCC has embarked on a significant collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), University of Sherbrooke, UCLA and other organizations in the USA on development of space-based monitoring technologies for hydrological monitoring in Canada. This includes leading the Canadian Surface Water Ocean Topograph (SWOT) hydrology mission that is scheduled for launch by NASA in 2021. SWOT aims to make the first global survey of Earth's surface water. The establishment of appropriate ground-based and aerial infrastructures in various environments worldwide will contribute towards this goal. The North Saskatchewan River would be a Tier 1 calibration/validation site for this project and funding from the CSA will be leveraged to install hardware along the site.

ECCC, in cooperation with the University of Manitoba, University of Victoria, and InnoTech Alberta, continues to support the national pilot of an operational isotope network in conjunction with the hydrometric network, similar to the existing isotope-hydrometric network in the United States. The goal is to demonstrate the value in systematic collection of river discharge in tandem with analysis for oxygen-18 (18O) and deuterium (2H) across Canada. From 2015 to 2017, a multi-year contribution from ECCC to Alberta Innovates Technology Futures made possible the collection of stable water isotopes at selected ECCC gauging stations across the country, to gain insight into the sources of streamflow (rain, snow, groundwater, wetlands, glaciers etc.) and their spatio-temporal variability; to characterize open-water evaporation losses and to partition evapotranspiration; to assist in parameterization of isotope-capable hydrological models such as WATFLOOD^{Footnote 4}; and to assist in water quality, ecological studies, and net primary productivity estimation. To date a total of 3140 samples have been analyzed for 18O and 2H. 

Outreach

The historical analysis tool was integrated into the hydrometric data (HYDAT) interface application, ECCC Data Explorer (ECDE), to allow the users to interactively compare daily time-series data over a specified period with statistically summarized historical data. A new version of ECDE was published in early 2016–2017.

2.2 Water quality monitoring

2.2.1. Freshwater quality monitoring

Freshwater quality monitoring has been a core program function of ECCC since the Department’s inception in the early 1970s. The department’s monitoring and surveillance activities are critical for assessing and reporting on water quality status and trends, and for fulfilling many federal domestic and international commitments and legislative obligations. Much of the department’s monitoring is carried out through federal-provincial/territorial agreements, ensuring cost-effective and non-duplicative program delivery.

The objectives of the federal-provincial/territorial water quality monitoring agreements are to achieve a long-term commitment for the acquisition of water quality data; to obtain comparable, scientifically sound water quality data that are reliable to inform water resource management; and to disseminate timely information on water quality to the public, government agencies, industry and the scientific community. Data is also used to support the freshwater quality indicator in the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators (see section 3) (access data)

For more information, please consult the freshwater quality monitoring web section.

The long-term freshwater quality monitoring network consists of federal, federal-provincial and federal-territorial sampling sites across Canada (see Figure 3). Water quality samples are collected routinely at these sites for physical and chemical water quality parameters such as temperature, pH, alkalinity, turbidity, major ions, nutrients and metals. Pesticides and additional parameters of concern are also monitored where site-specific water quality issues exist.

Figure 3: Long-term water quality monitoring sites

The ECCC’s Freshwater Quality Monitoring Program is aligned with Canada’s major watersheds (Pacific, Arctic/Athabasca, Hudson Bay and Atlantic watersheds). This program promotes robust water resource management across Canada.

As part of the Risk Based Adaptive Management Framework to optimize its national monitoring networks, ECCC has developed a Risk-Based Basin Analysis (RBBA), a geospatial approach to identifying relative risks and priorities in basins (sub-drainage areas) across Canada; and a Risk-Based Analysis, an approach to identifying site-specific relative risks and priorities. Key stressor variables were identified, stressor intensities calculated, and compilation of relevant geospatial layers continued. These “ever-green” analytical tools used in conjunction with statistical power analytical tools allow sampling locations and frequencies to align with risks of water quality impairment in Canadian watersheds.

In addition, to facilitate environmental information reporting consistency at the national level, work is under way to categorize sampling locations across the country based on water body characteristics (size/flow, level of risk, etc.).

Pacific Watershed

In the Pacific Watershed (which includes parts of British Columbia and Yukon), monitoring is conducted under the Canada–British Columbia (BC) Water Quality Monitoring Agreement and under operational schedules agreed with the Yukon government. In British Columbia, ECCC conducts joint monitoring with the provincial Ministry of Environment at 41 river sites (including one automated site). In the Yukon, 13 sites (including one automated site) were monitored on rivers in collaboration with Environment Yukon.

The Canada–British Columbia automated monitoring sites located in the Fraser River Estuary is a monitoring buoy platform. This automated site provides real-time water quality, meteorological, and grab-sample data to the public on ECCC’s Fresh Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance website. In addition, ECCC in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries and Ocean, the Okanagan First Nation Alliance and the British Columbia Ministry of Environment, also deployed a real-time water quality monitoring buoy in Osoyoos Lake in 2017. Data generated from these automated sites are used to identify important trends and emerging water quality issues from urban, agricultural and industrial activities in the lower Fraser and Okanagan Basins.

In 2016–2017, ECCC operated five long-term water quality monitoring sites in four national parks, in cooperation with the Parks Canada Agency (Glacier, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks in British Columbia and Kluane National Park in Yukon). The sites are relatively pristine and provide important reference information for comparison with sites influenced by human activities. Many of these sites are also located in key areas for assessing climate change.

Arctic/Athabasca Watershed

ECCC undertakes monitoring at 48 sites within the Arctic Watershed and across the North: 22 in the Northwest Territories, 14 in Nunavut, 2 in Yukon and 10 in northern Alberta. A majority of these sites are operated in cooperation with Parks Canada and include eight national parks (Auyittuq, Quttinirpaaq, Ukkusiksalik, Aulavik, Ivvavik, Tuktut Nogait, Nahanni and Wood Buffalo National Parks).  Many of these sites are co-located with ECCC’s gauge stations. In 2016–2017, a total of 213 sampling trips were completed.

Many of the high-Arctic sites are considered relatively pristine and, over time, provide an important baseline and reference for comparison with respect to long-range transport of atmospheric pollutants to high-latitude areas, as well as for any potential future influences from human activities in the North. ECCC also operates water quality sites on major rivers in the North, some of which are associated with transboundary basins (e.g., Mackenzie River, Slave River, Liard River) or are significant northern watersheds (e.g., Coppermine River, Thelon River, Great Bear Lake/River). Additional northern rivers are also monitored in Yukon (see Pacific Watershed section, above).

Monitoring on the Prairies

As part of the national long term monitoring network and in support of the Prairie Provinces Water Board Master Agreement on Apportionment, ECCC monitors 12 sites along the main rivers crossing between the Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba provincial boundaries. This work supports annual reporting on water quality objectives for nutrient, metal, major ion and pesticide parameters established by Canada, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The water quality data and information obtained is also used to support the Lake Winnipeg Basin Program. Water quality data are routinely shared with partners and collaborators involved in the Lake Winnipeg Research Consortium, including the Province of Manitoba, other federal departments, universities and institutes working on Lake Winnipeg.

ECCC continued to work with Manitoba Sustainable Development under the Science Subsidiary Arrangement made pursuant to the Canada-Manitoba Memorandum of Understanding Respecting Lake Winnipeg and the Lake Winnipeg Basin. The agreement, signed in 2012, supports the development of science-related data, indicators and nutrient targets. Other key transboundary monitoring sites are located on the Red, Pembina, Winnipeg and Souris rivers and on the Milk River–St. Mary River system. The Red and Souris Rivers, in particular, have encountered many water quality issues over time (nutrients, metals, pesticides, salinity). Water quality and water quantity issues on these rivers are addressed formally through the International Red River Board and International Souris River Board under the International Joint Commission (IJC). Regular monitoring updates were provided to these boards and to a number of institutional partners in 2016–2017.

All of the transboundary rivers in the watershed are monitored regularly (8 to 12 times per year). During the 2016–2017 open water season, the Red River was monitored more intensively (biweekly to weekly) to address concerns related to increased continuing water releases from Devils Lake (North Dakota) crossing the Canadian border, and to improve the nutrient loading estimates for Lake Winnipeg. Additionally, ECCC also operates an automated station on the Red River at Emerson, Manitoba, as a real-time alert system in the context of transboundary flooding and water quality monitoring. Real-time data were used to assess water quality changes due to increased Devils Lake water releases.

In 2016–2017, the Battle River near the Alberta and Saskatchewan border and the Assiniboine River and Carrot River, near the Saskatchewan and Manitoba border in the Prairies were monitored for neonicotinoids, a class of pesticide that has seen increased use and received significant global attention (in addition to other routinely used pesticides). The Red River, a key international transboundary waterway, was also monitored for a suite of current use pesticides, including neonicotinoids, carbamates (fungicide) and sulfonyl urea (herbicide) to assess transboundary contamination.

As an international and interprovincial transboundary waterway, Lake of the Woods is relatively unique in the number of jurisdictions and international organizations, such as the IJC, that have a role to play for successful environmental management. Local and national concerns with noxious and potentially toxic cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) blooms and declining water quality in Lake of the Woods prompted ECCC to address the science needs around this issue. As part of the international effort, ECCC has intensified science and monitoring efforts in the watershed that, in addition to baseline monitoring, includes more directed research efforts on algae, nutrient mechanisms, modelling and remote sensing.

Hudson Bay Watershed

In the Hudson Bay Watershed, ECCC conducts water quality monitoring at key interprovincial and international transboundary sites, as well as in certain national parks, under Memoranda of Understanding.

Atlantic Watershed

In the Atlantic Watershed, federal-provincial water quality monitoring is supported through the Canada–Quebec Water Quality Agreement, the Canada–New Brunswick Water Quality Monitoring Agreement, the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Water Quality Monitoring Agreement, as well as the Canada–Prince Edward Island Memorandum of Agreement on Water and the Canada-Ontario agreement respecting the Great Lakes as well as the Canada-US Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

In 2016–2017, a broad range of monitoring activities was undertaken in the Great Lakes targeting water, sediment and fish. Some of the monitoring conducted provided an assessment and interpretation of phosphorus loading from watersheds and tributaries into the Great Lakes and enabled the assessment of performance measures which have been implemented to reduce total phosphorus loadings to the Great Lakes.

The Canada–Quebec Water Quality Monitoring Agreement renewed at the end of 2016–2017 comprises 39 sites in the transboundary St. Lawrence River and its tributaries. In addition to the sites covered by this Agreement, ECCC operated 10 additional federal sites (including 2 automated) in the St. Lawrence River Basin. The sites were sampled monthly in 2016–2017 for physical parameters and nutrients, in addition to metals, pesticides and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) at some of them.

Under the Canada–New Brunswick Water Quality Agreement during 2016–2017, 10 federal-provincial sites were monitored. The sites are located on international and interprovincial transboundary rivers or their tributaries in the Saint John River (Wolastoq) and Restigouche River watersheds. Two real-time (automated) sites were also maintained by ECCC at the borders of the transboundary Big Presque Isle Stream and Meduxnekeag River.

The International St. Croix River Watershed Board, under the IJC, plays an important role in managing water levels, water quality and fisheries between Maine and New Brunswick. The Board works collaboratively with stakeholders within the watershed by preventing and resolving disputes. ECCC monitored water levels at seven stations in the watershed and real-time (automated) water quality at two stations and provided input to the Board’s 2016 Annual Report to the IJC.

In 2016-2017, eleven sites were monitored under the Canada–Prince Edward Island Memorandum of Agreement. One real-time (automated) site was operated on the Wilmot River. The sites are distributed across the province, with data available on the Government of Prince Edward Island’s website. In addition, pesticide surveillance was also conducted during the growing season.

In 2016–2017, ECCC managed 13 federal sites (including 2 automated sites) in Nova Scotia in support of the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicator pertaining to water quality. Nova Scotia Environment provided support on data collection. The sites are located across the province and cover major watersheds within the Maritime Major Drainage Area, including those flowing into the Bay of Fundy.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, 72 sites across the major drainage areas were sampled 4–8 times in 2016–2017. Data and station information from the sites are available on the Newfoundland and Labrador Water Resources website.

For more information, please consult the freshwater quality monitoring web section.

2.2.2 Biological monitoring

In addition to the physical-chemical water quality monitoring detailed above, ECCC also undertakes biological monitoring using benthic macroinvertebrates to assess the health of aquatic ecosystems.

The Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network (CABIN) is a component of the Freshwater Quality Monitoring (FWQM) program for assessing the biological condition of freshwater ecosystems in Canada using standardized data collection and analysis methods. This component, based on decades of research and development in many countries, has been adopted by multiple organizations across Canada. The success of CABIN results from collaboration and data sharing. It is led by ECCC’s National CABIN Team, which provides online data management, assessment tools and models, field and laboratory analysis protocols, certification and training, and ecological research and development. Network partners share their observations within the national database. CABIN partners include federal, provincial and territorial government departments, industry, academia, Indigenous communities, and non-governmental organizations such as community watershed groups. A CABIN Science Team, consisting of ECCC and external scientists with expertise in large-scale ecological monitoring, provides science advice and recommendations.

Since the early development of the CABIN monitoring strategy in the 1980s, data has been collected in over 10,000 locations across the country. In 2016–2017, data was collected at 897 sites in several sub-basins across the country by ECCC and its collaborators (Figure 4).

Figure 4: CABIN monitoring sites

Pacific Watershed

In British Columbia, CABIN monitoring is jointly conducted under the Canada–British Columbia Water Quality Monitoring Agreement. Under this agreement, ECCC and the provincial Ministry of Environment collaborate on data collection for reference model maintenance and development and site assessment. Eleven reference models are available to all CABIN users to conduct biological assessments in watersheds in British Columbia and Yukon that were developed collaboratively by federal, provincial and territorial agencies (i.e., Department of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Parks Canada, BC Ministry of Environment, and Government of Yukon). Models are available for the Yukon River Basin, Fraser River/Georgia Basin, Skagit River Basin, Okanagan Basin, B.C. Central/North Coast, Northeastern B.C. and Rocky Mountains national parks models. Preliminary models are available for B.C. south coast and Columbia. In 2016–2017, ECCC collected CABIN data from 58 stream and river sites: 41 sites for reference model maintenance and development, and 17 sites for assessment of biological condition co-located at long-term physical-chemical monitoring sites.

Arctic/Athabasca Watershed

In the Arctic-Athabsca watershed, a model is available in the Nahanni National Park in NWT. In the Arctic watershed in 2016-2017, ECCC revisted 11 sampling sites in the Hay River. In the Athabasca watershed, under the Joint Canada–Alberta Implementation Plan for the Oil Sands, CABIN sampling was conducted at on sites in the tributaries of the Athabasca River in 2016–2017. The program also included biomonitoring sampling in the mainstream of the Athabasca River using a modified CABIN approach for large rivers. Sampling sites in the Athabasca River and its tributaries range from within the active oil sands development area (potentially impacted sites) to outside the development area as well as beyond any natural exposures of the bituminous geologic formations in the region (reference sites).    

Hudson Bay Watershed

In the Hudson Bay watershed in 2016-17, models were made available in CABIN for Near North Ontario and the Attawapiskat Basin. In 2016-17, ECCC revisited 5 sampling sites in southern Ontario as part of a comparative study with Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.

Atlantic Watershed

In the Atlantic Watershed, 191 stream and river sites were monitored by ECCC and its certified partners in 2016–2017 (170 in the Atlantic provinces and 21 in Quebec), using CABIN sampling protocols. This work supported federal-provincial water quality monitoring agreements with New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. Monitoring data collected also informed the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators and research in the use of new techniques for assessing the suitability of aquatic habitat to support aquatic life, based on DNA collection. The monitoring allowed partners to conduct assessments in transboundary watersheds (Saint John/Wolastoq River, St. Lawrence River) and federal lands (i.e., national parks, Indigenous communities, and the Meaford and Gagetown Canadian Forces Bases). CABIN sampling using lake protocols was also conducted in the Great Lakes.

2.2.3 Marine water quality monitoring

The Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program (CSSP) is a federal program which is administered jointly pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, ECCC and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

The CSSP objective is to provide reasonable assurance that molluscan shellfish are safe for consumption, by controlling the harvesting of all molluscs (e.g., oysters, mussels, clams, scallops) within the tidal waters of Canada. The mutual concerns of Canada and the United States to protect the public from the consumption of contaminated bivalve molluscs led to the Canada-US Bilateral Agreement on Shellfish Sanitation on April 30, 1948 dealing with sanitary practices in the shellfish industries of both countries. This Agreement remains in effect and to maintain open trade, Canada is subject to periodic audits by the US Food and Drug Administration.

In 2016–2017, 524 shellfish growing areas were monitored in Canada (Atlantic: 247, BC: 140, QC: 137). Marine water sampling was achieved through a combination of delivery methods in different portions of each province, including internal ECCC resources, outsourcing to private-sector contractors federal-provincial water monitoring agreements and, to a lesser extent, voluntary agreements with First Nations and stakeholders. Analyses for fecal coliform and salinity content determination were performed in ISO 17025- accredited laboratories. Across Canada, 31,099 marine water samples (Atlantic: 18,930, BC: 6,669, QC: 5,500) were collected at 7,336 stations (Atlantic: 3,730, BC: 2,106, QC: 1500).

In addition to marine water quality determinations, sanitary shoreline investigations of point and non-point pollution sources were performed in 230 shellfish growing areas (Atlantic: 71, BC: 111, QC: 48). Related to waste water treatment plant assessments, 22 wastewater systems were evaluated or re-evaluated.  Finally, 2916 environmental emergency events were reviewed and significant incidents were assessed to determine the need for emergency harvest area closures.

For more information about shellfish areas closure, please consult the DFO website.

2.3 Hydro-meteorological modelling and prediction

For several years, researchers and scientists at ECCC and many partner organizations have used atmospheric and weather data as input for day-to-day operational forecasting models, and hydrologic data collected under the hydrometric agreements as input for hydrologic models. These models demonstrate how regional hydro-meteorological modelling can help improve water resources management.

ECCC continued to contribute internationally through its leadership as the Canadian hydrological advisor to the World Meteorological Organization’s Commission for Hydrology. This entails providing input and advice to the Commission on all matters related to hydrometric monitoring and hydro-meteorology. Specifically, the Department contributed expertise toward the development of techniques for uncertainty analysis in hydrometric measurements and on basic systems. ECCC participated in the 15th Session of the Commission for Hydrology (CHy-15) of the World Meteorological Organization was held in Rome, Italy from December 7-13, 2016. Forty-six (46) countries were represented by 103 delegates.

The Department continues to lead the Arctic Hydrological Cycle Observing System initiative, which focuses on assessing freshwater fluxes into the Arctic Ocean. In 2016–2017, it was agreed to add extended metadata to the database of water level and flow data (available online via the Global Runoff Data Centre) and began work to create international standards for collection of lake and river ice and water temperature observations.

Great Lakes

In 2016–2017, ECCC continued to improve methods for coupled hydro-meteorological modelling and prediction under an expanded environmental prediction framework. The model enables an improved understanding of interactions between the atmosphere and land surface, and supports improved water management in the region. ECCC is collaborating with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration in the U.S., and the U.S. Geological Survey to operationalize various modelling systems for historical analysis of the water balance in the upper Great Lakes. In particular, starting in 2016–2017, estimates from the various agencies of the components of the water balance are now compiled monthly and compared. Under the ‘Coordinating Committee on Great Lakes Basic Hydraulic and Hydrologic Data’, flow measurements and computation techniques for the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers were also updated to improve water balance accounting.

Hydrological and modelling experts in ECCC continue to develop models to estimate possible scenarios of river flow through ensemble flow forecasting. The operational forecast model was expanded to 72 hours in 2016–2017. This capability is of particular use to the provincial flood forecasting agencies. Initial testing of the model in the Great Lakes continues as researchers strive for a 10-day model.

St. Lawrence River

Activities under the St. Lawrence Action Plan’s numerical environmental predictions working group continued in 2016–2017. The main activities of the group are:

These activities are done through the federal-provincial collaboration under the St. Lawrence Action Plan, and they support the main priorities of the plan (biodiversity, water quality and uses).

Lake of the Woods

The Lake of the Woods Control Board is a Canadian board which regulates the water levels of Lake of the Woods and Lac Seul, and the flows in the Winnipeg and English Rivers downstream of these lakes to their junction, for the benefit of all users and interests

In 2016, Lake of the Woods Control Board staff collected field data to improve its Winnipeg River basin hydrological forecasting model. The board also joined the national FloodNET initiative, working with University of Waterloo to improve model calibration.

Prairies

Ongoing studies have focused on improved understanding of water availability in Canada through the development of new methods for modelling the hydrological cycle at a variety of scales, from small basins to large rivers. Research collaboration continued on the development of models for large-scale simulation of the Saskatchewan River and Mackenzie River basins with the Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan. Recent progress includes linking hydrological models with water management models and one-dimensional hydraulic models, making use of satellite technology to improve predictive ability, evaluating various precipitation estimation tools for the region, improving the representation of physical processes in the models, and exploring new methods of blending modelled and observed streamflow to improve predictive abilities. Progress has also been made in predicting streamflow using the land surface component of ECCC’s weather model. Exploratory work is being undertaken to transfer the modelling technology to provincial river forecasting agencies.

Other activities

ECCC provides support to many International Joint Commission (IJC) water boards, committees and special studies in 2016–2017. This included establishing plans for special studies and development, testing and implementation of hydrologic and ecosystem models, and the initiation and implementation of an adaptive management framework for the on-going review of lake regulation plans. Following 15 years of binational study and development and with ECCC support, in 2016–2017, the IJC implemented a new regulation plan known as Plan 2014. Plan 2014 is designed to provide for more natural variations of water levels of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River that are needed to restore ecosystem health.

ECCC also played a lead role in the development of a work plan for the Lake Champlain-Richelieu Reference Study examining the cause of and possible solutions to flooding issues in that basin.

ECCC, in collaboration with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, is building an Integrated Ecosystem Response Model for the St. Mary’s River rapids. The bi-dimensional Ecohydraulic model will determine the best configuration for the different gates opening for improving the spawning success of several fish species that uses the swift water of the rapids for reproduction. This prototype will eventually extend to the entire St. Mary’s River and will consider vegetation and several faunal indicators.