Latest Water Quality Results

E. Coli is measured as MPN/100 ml. The guideline for recreational waters is 400 MPN/100 ml for a single sample. Samples exceeding the guideline are highlighted in red on the map. There were no exceedances detected during the September water quality survey. 

Water Temperature

Warmer water contains less oxygen than colder water so as river temperatures rise and dissolved oxygen decreases, fish begin to experience stress, particularly salmonids (salmon, charr, and trout species). To escape warm waters in the mid-summer, many fish species will move to smaller, cooler tributaries or pools near cold seeps to survive. High temperatures can delay migration; exhaust energy reserves, which can result in reproductive failure; reduce egg survival; slow growth of fry and smolts; and decrease resistance to disease. 20°C is considered the threshold minimum temperature for assessing physiological stress in Atlantic salmon.

Spring-fed streams are ecologically important as, being fed by groundwater, they are less susceptible to variations in air temperature and can buffer changes in climate. They support animals that don’t occur in the main stem and maintain the base flow of the river. Monitoring the temperature of our ecologically important tributaries using pendant loggers will help us to better understand the sources of thermal inputs so that we can protect, manage, and restore them in the future.

2021 Temperature Logger Summary