Northern River Basins Study NORTHERN RIVER BASINS STUDY PROJECT REPORT NO. 133 SEDIMENT DYNAMICS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SEDIMENT-ASSOCIATED CONTAMINANTS IN THE PEACE, ATHABASCA AND Prepared for the Northern River Basins Study under Project 5315-E1 by Michael A. Carson Consultant in Environmental Data Interpretation and Henry R. Hudson Ecological Research Division, Environment Canada NORTHERN RIVER BASINS STUDY PROJECT REPORT NO. 133 SEDIMENT DYNAMICS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SEDIMENT-ASSOCIATED CONTAMINANTS IN THE PEACE, ATHABASCA AND SLAVE RIVER BASINS Published by the Northern River Basins Study Edmonton, Alberta March, 1997 CANADIAN CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION DATA Carson, Michael A. Sediment dynamics and implications for sediment associated contaminants in the Peace, Athabasca and Slave River Basins (Northern River Basins Study project report, ISSN 1192-3571 ; no. 133) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-662-24768-X Cat. no. R71-49/3-133E 1. River sediments -- Environmental aspects -- Alberta - Athabasca River. 2. River sediments - Environmental aspects - Peace River (B.C. and Alta.) 3. River sediments -- Environmental aspects - Slave River (Alta, and N.W.T.) 4. Sedimentation and deposition - Environmental aspects -- Alberta -- Athabasca River. 5. Sedimentation and deposition - Environmental aspects - Peace River (B.C. and Alta.) 6. Sedimentation and deposition - Environmental aspects - Slave River (Alta, and N.W.T.) I. Hudson, H.R. (Henry Roland), 1951- II. Northern River Basins Study (Canada) III. Title. IV. Series. TD387.A43C37 1997 553.7'8'0971232 C96-980263-3 Copyright© 1997 by the Northern River Basins Study. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce all or any portion of this publication provided the reproduction includes a proper acknowledgement of the Study and a proper credit to the authors. The reproduction must be presented within its proper context and must not be used for profit. The views expressed this publication are solely those of the authors. PREFACE: The Northern River Basins Study was initiated through the "Canada-Alberta-Northwest Territories Agreement Respecting the Peace-Athabasca-Slave River Basin Study, Phase II - Technical Studies" which was signed September 27, 1991. The purpose of the Study is to understand and characterize the cumulative effects of development on the water and aquatic environment of the Study Area by coordinating with existing programs and undertaking appropriate new technical studies. This publication reports the method and findings of particular work conducted as part of the Northern River Basins Study. As such, the work was governed by a specific terms of reference and is expected to contribute information about the Study Area within the context of the overall study as described by the Study Final Report. This report has been reviewed by the Study Science Advisory Committee in regards to scientific content and has been approved by the Study Board of Directors for public release. It is explicit in the objectives of the Study to report the results of technical work regularly to the public. This objective is served by distributing project reports to an extensive network of libraries, agencies, organizations and interested individuals and by granting universal permission to reproduce the material. This report contains referenced data obtained from sources external to the Northern River Basins Study. Individuals interested in using external data must obtain permission to do so from the donor agency. NORTHERN RIVER BASINS STUDY PROJECT REPORT RELEASE FORM This publication may be cited as: Carson, Michael A. and Hudson, Henry R. 1997. Northern River Basins Study Project Report No. 133, Sediment Dynamics and Implications for Sediment-Associated Contaminants in the Peace, Athabasca and Slave River Basins. Northern River Basins Study, Edmonton, Alberta. Whereas the above publication is the result of a project conducted under the Northern River Basins Study and the terms of reference for that project are deemed to be fulfilled, IT IS THEREFORE REQUESTED BY THE STUDY OFFICE THAT; this publication be subjected to proper and responsible review and be considered for release to the public. Whereas it is an explicit term of reference of the Science Advisory Committee "to review, for scientific content, material for publication by the Board", IT IS HERE ADVISED BY THE SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT; this publication has been reviewed for scientific content and that the scientific practices represented in the report are acceptable given the specific purposes of the project and subject to the field conditions encountered. SUPPLEMENTAL COMMENTARY HAS BEEN ADDED TO THIS PUBLICATION: [ ] Yes [ ] No / f £ (Dr. P. A. Larkin, Ph.D., Chair) (Date) U Whereas the Study Board is satisfied that this publication has been reviewed for scientific content and for immediate health implications, IT IS HERE APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS THAT; this publication be released to the public, and that this publication be designated for: [ ] STANDARD AVAILABILITY [ ] EXPANDED AVAILABILITY (Lucille Partington, Co-chair) (Date) (Reroert McLeod, Co-chair) (Date) ^ SEDIMENT DYNAMICS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SEDIMENT-ASSOCIATED CONTAMINANTS IN THE PEACE, ATHABASCA AND SLAVE RIVER BASINS STUDY PERSPECTIVE Industrial activity within the Northern River Basins Study (NRBS) area has been limited primarily to Related Study Questions exploitation of fossil fuels and forestry resources. Mining and agriculture are other significant activities, but are less extensive and of less concern regarding 4a) What are the contents and nature of the point source pollution and effects on people and contaminants entering the system and wildlife. The expansion of forestry activities and what is their distribution and toxicity in development of a large pulp and paper industry has the aquatic ecosystem with particular led to increasing public concern over cumulative reference to water, sediments and biota? impacts of these and other developments on the health of northern ecosystems. 4b) Are toxins such as dioxins, furans, mercury, etc. increasing or decreasing Many of the contaminants of concern in the study and what is their rate of change? area have a strong affinity to sediment. As a result, the distribution, pathways and fates of many 14) What long term monitoring programs contaminants are closely related to the dynamics of and predictive models are required to the riverine sediments. provide an ongoing assessment of the state of the aquatic ecosystems? These This report was undertaken after the sediment and programs must ensure that all stakeholders have the opportunity for sediment-associated contaminant sampling field input. programs were completed. As such the report provides a retrospective review of river processes affecting sediment-associated contaminant dynamics. The report concludes that while NRBS results have yielded some interesting observations, it would have been most useful for the monitoring and assessment of sediment work to be established prior to any field work being undertaken. The point is made that additional sediment information is likely to emerge that will have some bearing on answering questions previously raised or not yet answered by NRBS. Additional examination by a multi-disciplinary group of the NRBS data is advocated. REPORT SUMMARY This report examines the mechanisms of natural riverine sediment production in the Northern River Basins Study area, together with the routine data for suspended sediment in these rivers collected by Water Survey of Canada, as a background for the examination of sediment-associated contaminants in the NRBS area. The treatment of natural sediments is presented in Chapters 2 (study area description), 3 (data analysis), 4 (time trends) and 5 (sources, pathways and fate of sediments). The issue of sediment quality is dealt with in Chapter 6 which examines, in general terms, the contaminants associated with industrial activity in the NRBS area and the degree to which these contaminants are adsorbed onto natural river sediment. With this background information on natural sediments and on industrial contaminants, Chapter 7, the kernel of the report, then examines the interaction between industrial contaminants and natural sediment in the NRBS area, based on previous studies of river water quality and specific projects organized as part of the NRBS investigation. A synthesis of Conclusions is given in Chapter 8. Recommendations for future monitoring and assessment are provided in Chapter 9. All tables and figures are provided at the end of the report after the references. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The following individuals and agencies are acknowledged for their contributions to this report. Richard Chabaylo, of the NRBS Office provided much information and many reports. Erik Ellehoj provided river distance estimates and other GIS products. Bob Crosley (Ecological Research Division, Environmental Conservation Branch, Environment Canada, Calgary) provided details of sampling sites in the NRBS sediment program, provided draft reports on sediment-associated contaminant data from all the NRBS studies, and provided helpful comments on Chapter 7 of this report. Nick Chapin (Water Survey of Canada, Environment Canada, Calgary), supplied discharge data for the period 1990-95 for selected stations in the NRBS area and sediment data for multiple- vertical sampling for the Peace River at Peace River station. M. Oullet of Weld wood of Canada Ltd. Hinton Division provided information