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Surface Water Quality Report on Current Conditions

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Surface Water Quality Report on Current Conditions Vermilion River Watershed Surface Water Quality Report on Current Conditions 29 March, 2016 Prepared by: Conservation Sudbury 1 Table of Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................... 2 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3 2.0 Watershed Description ........................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Study Area ....................................................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Sources of Contamination ............................................................................................................... 7 3.0 Material and Methods ............................................................................................................................ 8 4.0 Results and Discussions ........................................................................................................................ 14 4.1 Exploratory Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 14 4.2 Current Water Quality Conditions ................................................................................................ 14 4.2.1 Field Observations ..................................................................................................................... 14 4.2.2 Conventional Contaminants ...................................................................................................... 15 4.2.2.1 Road Salt ................................................................................................................................. 15 4.2.2.2 Total Phosphorous (TP) ........................................................................................................... 18 4.2.2.3 Escherichia coli (E. coli) ........................................................................................................... 20 4.2.3 Metal Contaminants .................................................................................................................. 21 5.0 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 24 6.0 References ............................................................................................................................................ 26 7.0 Appendix A ............................................................................................................................................ 27 8.0 Appendix B ............................................................................................................................................ 40 PWQMN Protocol for Stream Water Quality Monitoring (OMOE, 2006) ........................................... 40 9.0 Appendix C ............................................................................................................................................ 41 10.0 Appendix D .......................................................................................................................................... 42 2 1.0 Introduction Canada is the second largest country in the world with very low human population density and is relatively free from industrial activity. As a result, much of the country has escaped the major problems associated with heavy industrial activities (Schindler et al., 2006). But events such as contamination of public water supplies in the Towns of Walkerton, Ontario and North Battleford, Saskatchewan and numerous boil water advisories in various municipalities in Canada have been a constant reminder that a healthy environment cannot be taken for granted. The Walkerton tragedy highlights many key issues such as: lacking an established nationwide water quality program, current monitoring is temporally and spatially fragmented, and the poor use of data and information generated by monitoring activities (Khan et al., 2003). In Ontario, though limited and fragmented, we are fortunate to have a long running surface water quality monitoring program; where the water quality information from streams at locations across Ontario is collected as part of the Provincial Water Quality Monitoring Network (PWQMN). The network has 390 monitoring stations operated in partnership with 36 conservation authorities across Ontario. This partnership has been operating in the area since 1964, with a short hiatus in the late 1990s. The water quality parameters analyzed for this program include chloride, nutrients, suspended solids, trace metals and other general chemistry parameters. In the City of Greater Sudbury, Conservation Sudbury (CS) monitors ten major rivers and streams under this network, which are located in two main watersheds; the Vermilion River and the Wanapitei River. PWQMN information is one of the main sources of surface water information used by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) to evaluate applications for certificates of approval and permits to take water and to develop water quality standards. The Vermilion River Watershed in particular remains one of the important watersheds within the City of Greater Sudbury in spite of just a third of its watershed being located within the municipal jurisdiction. The watershed houses the majority of the city’s population and is also home to many diverse land use activities compared to its neighboring watersheds. For the better part of the 20th century, the City of Greater Sudbury was metaphorically compared to a moonscape due to its damaged landscape, however, decades of hard work and collective efforts from the community have made environmental recovery possible. Though the local environment is still recovering from the historic mining activities, in recent years, some water bodies within the Vermilion River system have been facing challenges from other anthropogenic activities like urban development and nutrient enrichment as well. The impacts of algae blooms (Ella Lake in winter), numerous boil water advisories, new development challenges along with activities mentioned earlier, have been a cause of concern for the residents of the watershed. Vermilion River Watershed consists of a wide range of land cover categories, which include mining, industrial, urban, suburban, agricultural, wetlands and water bodies. The watershed is approximately 3 4,429 square kilometers in size, and has an approximate population of 100,0001. Mining and related industries continue to dominate the local economy which is due to the region’s mineral rich conditions. Although most of the urban land use is in the south western area, in and around the Sudbury core (old Sudbury), there are numerous smaller urban centers and settlement areas in other parts of the watershed as well. Unfortunately, a detailed water quality assessment of the entire Vermilion River and its sub watersheds has never been completed. Therefore, there was a strong need for analyzing water quality data at various sites to better understand different land use issues. Water quality assessment can be a good tool to scan prevailing water quality conditions and establish the areas of concern. From 2013 to 2015, the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) provided funding to the Vermilion River Stewardship (VRS) to conduct water quality monitoring in the Vermilion River Watershed. In 2012 CS was approached by the VRS group to develop a water quality monitoring program for the Vermilion River Watershed, with the funds approved by the OTF. CS agreed to collect water quality data, analyze and compare the results to the Provincial Water Quality Objectives (PWQO) and or Ontario Drinking Water Standards (ODWS). The principal objective of the monitoring program was to establish baseline information and assess the water quality condition in the watershed. CS was responsible for the planning and execution of the water quality monitoring program for all three years. This report has been prepared by CS in association with the Vermilion River Stewardship. Water quality data collected from twenty eight stations between 2013 and 2015 have been assimilated and analyzed to prepare this report. The following sections have been developed by compiling available background information for the area including natural characteristics, population distribution and land uses. Several maps are also provided to illustrate much of this information. 2.0 Watershed Description 2.1 Study Area Sudbury is known as “the City of Lakes” encompassing 330 lakes that are larger than 10 hectares and 47 lakes larger than 100 hectares. This section describes this area of lakes, rivers, wetlands, forests, as well as the City of Greater Sudbury, which functions as a service hub for Northeastern Ontario. The Vermilion River is the main tributary of the Spanish River and its head waters originate in Frechette Township in the rugged northern Precambrian ridges of the watershed. It flows in a southerly direction and follows a meandering path. The watershed area is mostly forested with approximately 302 km2 of lakes. 1 Calculation based on extrapolation of data from the population density maps 4 The Vermilion River has an approximate length of 248 km with an approximate elevation drop of 251 m and drains
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