An Assessment Of Drinking Water Quality For Alberta Communities In The Peace Athabasca And Slave River Basins

Presents results of site visits to 38 water treatment facilities located in the Northern River Basins Study area along the Peace, Athabasca, and Slave rivers. The 38 sites selected for the visits (out of 180 treatment facilities in the area) represent an overall cross-section of the types of facilities found in the area, based on existing data regarding raw water source, treatment process used, size of facility, and treated water quality. Parameters reported include turbidity, microbial contamination, trihalomethane, temperature, pH, conductivity, colour, and ammonia. Plant operating practices, sampling routines, and chemical dosing strategies are also reported.

Assesses the utilization and quality of the different non- conventional sources of drinking water used by people in the Northern River Basins Study area. Such sources include rain water, melted snow or ice, untreated surface water, dugout water, groundwater, bottled water, and water treated by various point-of-use technologies. The assessment included a literature review on non-conventional drinking water sources, drinking water quality, and the correlation between drinking water and health; interviews with area residents on their non-conventional drinking water practices; collection of field samples of non-conventional drinking water and analysis of samples for various physical, chemical, and microbiological parameters; and research on the effectiveness of some of the portable point-of-use drinking water treatment filters on the market.

This report summarizes the results of a project conducted to gather existing information about drinking water quality, drinking water facilities, and water treatment effectiveness in the area covered by the Northern River Basins Study (Peace, Slave, and Athabasca River basins in northern Alberta). The report includes a comparison of water treatment performance to the Canada Drinking Water Quality Guidelines. The appendices contain summaries of parameters in the treated water survey, of the comparisons between raw and treated water, and of samples not meeting the Guidelines, as well as an inventory of treatment facilities giving facility name and location, water source, community population, treatment method used, raw storage capacity, and treated volumes.

As part of a survey of residents of northern Alberta river basins, respondents were asked to choose the best and worst examples of various sets of threats to water quality/quantity in the basins as well as best and worst examples of possible management actions. This report analyses the responses to the two sets of best/worst questions, using logistic regression. The analysis produced the following estimates: the probability that each of 11 possible threats to water quantity/quality will be selected as the area of most concern; and the probability of each of 11 possible management actions will be selected as the most effective response to such concerns. The probabilities produced by this analysis are ranked to determine the preferences of northern households and various stakeholder groups within the basin.

The NTBS was designed to address the ecological concerns about pulp mill expansion, and to increase scientific knowledge about environmental conditions [ecology, ecosystem sustainability, water pollution and control, habitat, effect on fish and fishing, etc.] in the major river systems of the north. The study's objectives were to gather and interpret sound scientific information about the basins, develop appropriate recommendations for basin management, and communicate effectively with the public. The government response report confirms the governments' commitment to ecosystem sustainability and to pollution control in northern rivers. First Nations and Metis aboriginal [native] peoples contributed significantly to the NRBS.

Lists Northern River Basins Study technical reports by issue number, subject, and geographic area studied. Subject areas used to classify the reports are: hydrology/hydraulics, nutrients/dissolved oxygen, contaminants, food chain, drinking water, other uses, traditional knowledge, and synthesis and modelling. Ten geographic divisions are used: three each for the Athabasca and Peace Rivers, and one each of the Wapiti/Smoky rivers, Peace-Athabasca Delta, Lake Athabasca, and Rivière des Rochers/Slave River.

The Northern River Basins Study Board will be formulating recommendations covering many areas likely of consequence or interest to basin residents. To assist the Board in this task, a series of projects was initiated to survey the residents on their use of northern river basins waters. Existing information was either not available or as extensive as required. This report details the background work undertaken to devise a survey instrument and strategy to capture for households a representative cross-section of information on water use and resident attitudes toward the water resource. The report also assesses the most effective means for approaching and obtaining information from stakeholder groups. The appendix includes the project terms of reference, a description of how the population stratification method could be applied for the survey, and a draft questionnaire.

Describes the administration of a survey of northern Alberta river basin stakeholders on water management issues. Stakeholders included municipal governments, industries, agricultural associations and service boards, commercial fishermen and recreation business owners, river transportation operators, trappers, and general stakeholders such as environmental groups, recreational clubs, Aboriginal organisations, and professional associations. Information is included on the identification of stakeholder groups, questionnaire design, survey implementation, and data entry and coding. The appendix, forming the bulk of the document, includes copies of questionnaires sent to the various stakeholder groups and details on coding of the computer data files.