Water Quality Data

• National freshwater quality indicator for 2007 to 2009, Canada
• National freshwater quality indicator change between 2003-05 and 2007-09
• Freshwater quality in drainage regions for the 2007 to 2009 period, Canada
• Freshwater quality by land use category for the 2007 to 2009 period, Canada

 

National freshwater quality indicator for 2007 to 2009, Canada

Water quality category	Number of core stations
Poor	5
Marginal	30
Fair	67
Good	62
Excellent	9
Total	173

Note: Data from 2006-2008 were used for 24 Quebec stations because 2009 data were not available.

 

National freshwater quality indicator change between 2003-05 and 2007-09 - Historic histograms

Sampling period	Poor (Percentage of stations)	Marginal (Percentage of stations)	Fair (Percentage of stations)	Good (Percentage of stations)	Excellent (Percentage of stations)
2003-05	1	20	41	33	5
2004-06	1	19	39	34	8
2005-07	1	20	30	40	9
2006-08	1	16	39	36	8
2007-09	1	15	41	33	10

 

National freshwater quality indicator change between 2003-05 and 2007-09 - Pie chart of significant changes between 2003-05 and 2007-09

Change	Number of stations
Improving	7
Declining	4
No change detected	69
Total	80

Note: Change in the indicator between the 2003-05 and 2007-09 periods was assessed at 80 stations in 13 drainage regions across Canada where historical data were available. For each station, change in the indicator was assessed using a consistent set of guidelines and parameters through time.

 

Freshwater quality in drainage regions for the 2007 to 2009 period, Canada

Drainage region ID	Drainage region	Poor (Number of stations)	Marginal (Number of stations)	Fair (Number of stations)	Good (Number of stations)	Excellent (Number of stations)
1	Pacific Coastal (01)	0	0	5	1	0
2	Fraser–Lower Mainland (02)	0	2	1	3	1
3	Okanagan–Similkameen (03)	0	0	1	1	0
4	Columbia (04)	0	1	1	5	0
6	Peace–Athabasca (06)	0	0	5	0	1
10	North Saskatchewan (10)	0	0	3	3	0
11	South Saskatchewan (11)	0	1	2	7	1
12	Assiniboine–Red (12)	0	5	9	1	0
13	Winnipeg (13)	0	0	0	0	1
14	Lower Saskatchewan–Nelson (14)	0	1	7	4	0
19	Great Lakes (19)	1	4	7	3	2
20	Ottawa River (20)	0	3	0	6	1
21	St. Lawrence (21)	4	8	13	3	0
23	Saint John–St. Croix (23)	0	0	2	7	1
24	Maritime Coastal (24)	0	3	8	7	0
25	Newfoundland-Labrador (25)	0	2	3	11	1

Note: Data from 2006-2008 were used for 24 Quebec stations because 2009 data were not available. Care must be taken when comparing regions, as different parameters and guidelines are used to assess water quality across provinces and territories.

 

Freshwater quality by land use category for the 2007 to 2009 period, Canada

Land use category	Poor (Number of stations)	Marginal (Number of stations)	Fair (Number of stations)	Good (Number of stations)	Excellent (Number of stations)	Total (Number of stations)
Agricultural	0	9	16	11	0	36
Mining	0	4	12	9	2	27
Mixed pressures	4	16	21	10	0	51
Remote	1	1	16	31	7	56
Total	5	30	65	61	9	170

Note: Data from 2006-2008 were used for 24 Quebec stations because 2009 data were not available.