Lesser Slave Watershed 2018 Water Monitoring Report Prepared for: Lesser Slave Watershed Council Prepared by: Palliser Environmental Services Ltd. June 13, 2019 Lesser Slave Watershed 2018 Water Monitoring Report ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Lesser Slave Watershed Council Board would like to thank M. Payne (LSWC) and K. Jackson (LSWC) and B. Monteith (volunteer) for their efforts in coordinating and executing the field sampling program. The Lesser Slave watershed water monitoring program was made possible through the generous donations of: Swan River First Nation Vanderwell Contractors Ltd Vermillion Energy Thank you to Alberta Environment and Parks for providing streamflow data. Cover Photo: Lower Driftpile River, July 4, 2018 (M. Payne) This report can be cited as: Palliser Environmental Services Ltd. 2019. Lesser Slave Watershed 2018 Water Monitoring Report. Lesser Slave Watershed Council, High Prairie, AB. 40 pp. + Appendices. Palliser Environmental Services Ltd. Page i Lesser Slave Watershed 2018 Water Monitoring Report TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................................. i TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................................... ii 1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 1 2.0 BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................................... 1 2.1 Overview of Water Quality ........................................................................................................... 1 3.0 METHODS .......................................................................................................................................... 3 3.1 Field Sampling ............................................................................................................................... 3 3.2 Streamflow Data ........................................................................................................................... 4 3.3 Precipitation Data ......................................................................................................................... 6 3.4 Data Handling ................................................................................................................................ 7 3.5 Missing Data .................................................................................................................................. 7 4.0 RESULTS............................................................................................................................................. 9 4.1 Precipitation .................................................................................................................................. 9 4.2 Streamflow .................................................................................................................................. 10 4.3 Routine Parameters .................................................................................................................... 13 4.3.1 Swan River .................................................................................................................................. 13 4.3.2 Driftpile River ............................................................................................................................. 15 4.3.3 East Prairie River ........................................................................................................................ 16 4.3.4 West Prairie River ...................................................................................................................... 16 4.3.5 South Heart River and Grouard Channel ................................................................................... 17 4.4 Phosphorus ................................................................................................................................. 18 4.4.1 Swan River .................................................................................................................................. 18 4.4.2 Driftpile River ............................................................................................................................. 19 4.4.3 East Prairie River ........................................................................................................................ 20 4.4.4 West Prairie River ...................................................................................................................... 20 4.4.5 South Heart River and Grouard Channel ................................................................................... 21 4.5 Nitrogen ...................................................................................................................................... 21 4.5.1 Swan River .................................................................................................................................. 21 4.5.2 Driftpile River ............................................................................................................................. 22 4.5.3 East Prairie River ........................................................................................................................ 24 Palliser Environmental Services Ltd. Page ii Lesser Slave Watershed 2018 Water Monitoring Report 4.5.4 West Prairie River ...................................................................................................................... 24 4.4.5 South Heart River and Grouard Channel ................................................................................... 24 4.6 Total Suspended Solids (TSS) ...................................................................................................... 25 4.6.1 Swan River .................................................................................................................................. 25 4.6.2 Driftpile River ............................................................................................................................. 26 4.6.3 East Prairie River ........................................................................................................................ 26 4.6.4 West Prairie River ...................................................................................................................... 26 4.6.5 South Heart River and Grouard Channel ............................................................................ 26 4.7 Fecal Coliform Bacteria (FCB) ...................................................................................................... 27 4.7.1 Swan River .................................................................................................................................. 27 4.7.2 Driftpile River ............................................................................................................................. 28 4.7.3 East Prairie River ........................................................................................................................ 28 4.7.4 West Prairie River ...................................................................................................................... 28 4.7.5 South Heart River and Grouard Channel .................................................................................. 28 4.8 Metals (Swan River) .................................................................................................................... 29 5.0 SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................................... 34 6.0 RECOMMENDATIONS...................................................................................................................... 38 7.0 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................... 39 APPENDIX A. Water monitoring sample locations, 2017 and 2018. .......................................................... 41 APPENDIX B. Raw Data. ............................................................................................................................... 42 APPENDIX C. Water quality graphs for select parameters, 2017 and 2018................................................ 54 C-1. Swan River .......................................................................................................................................... 54 C-2. Driftpile River ...................................................................................................................................... 56 C-3. East Prairie River ................................................................................................................................. 57 C-4. West Prairie River ............................................................................................................................... 58 C-5. South Heart River and Grouard Channel ............................................................................................ 59 Palliser Environmental Services Ltd. Page iii Lesser Slave Watershed 2018 Water Monitoring Report 1.0 INTRODUCTION There is an ongoing concern in the Lesser Slave Lake watershed regarding water quality. Algal blooms have occasionally been observed