Water Quality Monitoring Program
Why water quality monitoring is important
in the Essex Region
Water is used by everyone in the Essex Region for personal, recreational, and work related purposes. Protecting our water means preserving natural watercourses in the Region and monitoring their water quality in order to identify problems and implement corrective actions. Water quality monitoring can include testing surface water, groundwater, or water in lakes and wetlands to determine the health of the source. It is the goal of the Essex Region Conservation Authority to monitor watercourses within the Essex Region to:
- Provide a greater understanding of potential impact associated with land uses on our natural watercourses.
- Help us to prioritize problem areas within watersheds for restoration improvements.
- Track the success of habitat enhancement and clean-up projects in and along watercourses.
- Inform the community on the state of watercourse health in the Essex Region.
Enhancing the existing water quality monitoring program
Since 1998, funding support has been provided from the Great Lakes Sustainability Fund and other partners, to conduct water quality monitoring in the Detroit River and Muddy Creek Watersheds. The areas draining the balance of the region (Lake Erie and Lake St Clair watersheds) were added in 2003 through the Clean Water ~ Green Spaces program. In 2000, the Essex Region Conservation Authority initiated a region wide surface water quality monitoring program, and groundwater monitoring was added in 2003. The enhanced program includes establishment of a protocol for sampling, analysis, detailed water sampling, and presentation of results.
Assessment Strategy
The two aspects of water quality that are monitored include:
- Water Chemistry - includes testing for nutrients, bacteria (E. coli), and total suspended solids through an accredited laboratory. Water temperature, conductivity (salinity), total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, and pH are conducted using a YSI Model 600R Sonde probe and Model 610-D field data computer. Water chemistry provides an accurate assessment of water quality at the time of sampling, but additional information is required to assess the overall stream health.
- Biota - Benthic invertibrates are the insects that live in the bottom of the stream. The biota have varying sensitivity to water quality and other habotat values and therefore provide helpful clues as to the overall longer term condition of the stream. Benthic macroinvertebrates are assessed using a rapid bioassessment protocol (RBP). Sampling is conducted using kick nets and D-frame nets to collect organisms which are then identified in the field to the taxanomic level of Order.
Highlights of the Sampling Procedure
In each watershed, water quality monitoring occurs at index stations. Sampling is conducted at key sites along the tributaries of the watershed to incorporate sampling at upstream, downstream and tributary confluence sites. All sites are selected based on criteria such as location within the watershed, ease of access, adjacent land use, feasibility of sampling, and time required for sampling. These sites are determined based on the characteristics of each watershed. Likewise key land use areas are sampled for potential non-point source and point source impacts. There are over 35 index stations throughout the Essex Region which are sampled three times each year occurring in the spring, summer and fall after high rainfall events when applicable. Supplementary sampling occurs based on requirements for further monitoring of highly impacted stations to determine sources and causes of pollution. Various stations are sampled in partnership with the Ministry of the Environment as part of the Provinical Water Quality Network.
Related Links
Watershed Report Card 2006:
