FINAL Williston Reservoir Watershed – 2015 Reconnaissance Fish Mercury Sampling Program Prepared for Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program’s Peace Region 9228 – 100th Ave. Ft. St. John, BC V1J 1X7 June 2016 Azimuth Consulting Group Partnership 218-2902 West Broadway Vancouver, BC V6K 2G8 Project No. PFWCP-15a Williston Reservoir Watershed – 2015 Reconnaissance Fish Mercury Sampling Program TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ i LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................. ii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................... ii APPENDICES...................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................... v PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY STATEMENT ........................................................ vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................... vii 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 1.1. Background ..................................................................................... 1 1.2. Report Objectives ............................................................................ 1 2. METHODS ................................................................................................. 2 2.1. Overview ......................................................................................... 2 2.2. Standard Operating Procedures ...................................................... 3 2.3. Deviations ........................................................................................ 3 2.4. Laboratory Assessed Parameters ................................................... 3 2.4.1. Mercury and Selenium ..................................................................... 3 2.4.2. Stable Isotopes ................................................................................ 4 2.5. Data Management ........................................................................... 5 2.5.1. Fish Catch Locations, Grouping and Categorizing .......................... 5 2.5.2. Data Manipulations .......................................................................... 5 2.6. Quality Assurance Quality Control ................................................... 6 3. RESULTS & DISCUSSION ........................................................................ 1 3.1. Rainbow trout .................................................................................. 1 3.2. Bull trout .......................................................................................... 2 3.3. Kokanee .......................................................................................... 3 4. REFERENCES ......................................................................................... 16 i June 2016 Williston Reservoir Watershed – 2015 Reconnaissance Fish Mercury Sampling Program LIST OF TABLES Table 2-1. Summary of fish catch locations and grouping for 2015 and 2006 data. 1 Table 3-1. Summary of length (mm), weight (g), condition factor, mercury (mg/kg ww), selenium (mg/kg ww) and stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes for rainbow trout and bull trout (2015) and kokanee (2006). .... 6 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3-1. Overview of fish capture locations................................................ 7 Figure 3-2. Total mercury concentration (mg/kg ww) of tissue versus fork length (mm) for individual rainbow trout caught in Thutade Lake. ......... 8 Figure 3-3. Total selenium concentration (mg/kg ww) of tissue versus fork length (mm) for individual rainbow trout caught in Thutade Lake. ......... 8 Figure 3-4. Relationship between δ15N and fish length (mm) for individual rainbow trout caught in Thutade Lake. ...................................................... 9 Figure 3-5. Relationship between δ15N and δ13C for individual rainbow trout (Thutade Lake), kokanee (2006) and bull trout, Williston Reservoir. 10 Figure 3-6. Weight (g) versus length (mm) for individual bull trout caught in tributaries of Williston Reservoir. ............................................................ 11 Figure 3-7. Relationship between total mercury concentration (mg/kg ww) and fork length (mm) for individual bull trout caught in Williston Reservoir tributaries. ................................................................................. 11 Figure 3-8. Total selenium concentration (mg/kg ww) versus fish length mm) for individual bull trout caught in tributaries of Williston Reservoir. ................................................................................................... 12 Figure 3-9. Relationship between δ15N and fish length (mm) for individual bull trout caught in tributaries of Williston Reservoir. ........................... 12 Figure 3-10. Distribution of 2006 fish length data for kokanee among areas. 13 Figure 3-11. Weight versus length for individual kokanee caught in tributaries of Williston Reservoir. ............................................................ 13 ii June 2016 Williston Reservoir Watershed – 2015 Reconnaissance Fish Mercury Sampling Program Figure 3-12. Relationship between total mercury concentration (mg/kg ww) and fork length for individual kokanee in tributaries of Williston Reservoir, 2006. ......................................................................................... 14 Figure 3-13. Relationship between total selenium concentration (mg/kg ww) and fork length for individual kokanee in tributaries of Williston Reservoir, 2006. ......................................................................................... 14 Figure 3-14. Relationship between δ15N and fish length (mm) for individual kokanee caught in tributaries of Williston Reservoir, 2006. .................. 15 iii June 2016 Williston Reservoir Watershed – 2015 Reconnaissance Fish Mercury Sampling Program APPENDICES Appendix A. Standard Operating Procedure. Appendix B. Raw individual fish data from laboratory reports (ALS and SINLAB). Appendix C. Kokanee field photos highlighting range in morphology. iv June 2016 Williston Reservoir Watershed – 2015 Reconnaissance Fish Mercury Sampling Program ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was written by Laura Bekar and Randy Baker with review by Gary Mann, all of Azimuth Consulting Group Partnership (Azimuth), Vancouver BC. Maggie McConnell of Azimuth was instrumental for organizing the fish sampling phase of the Project. Key to this program were those who provided fish samples for laboratory analyses. These people included John Hagen, Ian Spendlow, Mike Tilson, Doris Jacks, Benita Kaytor, Sean Rapai, Sheila Pierre, Jimmy Were, and possibly others. A special thank you to Arne Langston and Randy Zemlak of BC Hydro for sharing their knowledge of regional fish ecology and advising on the location of sampling areas. In particular, we would like to acknowledge the leadership and guidance provided by Dan Bouillon, the Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program’s Peace Region Manager, and the FWCP’s Peace Region Board. Their participation in this project is much appreciated. v June 2016 Williston Reservoir Watershed – 2015 Reconnaissance Fish Mercury Sampling Program PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY STATEMENT This report has been prepared by Azimuth Consulting Group Partnership (‘Azimuth’) for the use of the Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program (the ‘Client’). The Client has been party to development of terms of reference for the scope of work and understands its limitations. In providing this report and performing the services in preparation of this report Azimuth accepts no responsibility in respect of the site described in this report or for any business decisions relating to the site, including decisions in respect of the management, operation, or any other aspect of the site. This report and the assessments and recommendations contained in it are intended for the sole and exclusive use of the Client. Any use of, reliance on, or decision made by a third party based on this report, or the services performed by Azimuth in preparation of this report is expressly prohibited, without prior written authorization from Azimuth. Without such prior written authorization, Azimuth accepts no liability or responsibility for any loss, damage, or liability of any kind that may be suffered or incurred by any third party as a result of that third party’s use of, reliance on, or any decision made based on this report or the services performed by Azimuth in preparation of this report. In preparing this report, Azimuth has assumed that the data or other information provided by others is factual and accurate. If any of the information is inaccurate, site conditions change, new information is discovered, and/or unexpected conditions are encountered in future work, then modifications by Azimuth to the findings, conclusions and recommendations of this report may be necessary. This report is time-sensitive and pertains to a specific site and a specific scope of work. It is not applicable to any other site, development or remediation other than that to which it specifically refers. Any change in the site, remediation or proposed development may necessitate a supplementary investigation and assessment. This report is subject to copyright. Reproduction or publication of this report, in whole