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Water Quality

Brown water

See also asterisked items listed under Fish & Fish Habitat

"Water Quality" refers to physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water, referenced against the needs of organisms that live in it &/or consume it. In an environmental context, we generally consider the highest water quality to be that found in pristine environments. For the waters of the Woodens River system, such water is typically somewhat acidic, nutrient poor, and has a high content of humic acids which color it brown.

Information on Water Quality
in the Woodens River system

• Acid Rain on the Woodens River Watershed November 5, 2010-October 30, 2011 (PDF, 0.2 MB)
  Observations and comments by WRWEO volunteer Bob Chambers.
  
  
• A comparative study of water quality in selected lakes of the Wooden's River watershed
  A report to Woodens River Watershed Environmental Organization by WRWEO volunteer Bob Chambers, 2008. (PDF Document 1 MB). It includes data on oxygen, temperature, phosphorus, secchi disk, chlorophyll a and color for 8 lakes (Cranberry, Black Point, Frederick, Five Island, Hubley Big, Long, Sheldrake and Birch Hill) taken 2000-2002.
  
  
• Algal blooms in the Woodens River Watershed
  Some background on algal blooms, observations by Bob Chambers on blooms on Black Point Lake, and a request to report on blooms.
  
  
• Nova Scotia Lake Survey Program
  The site provides descriptions of ongoing programs and a variety of downloadable data on N.S. lakes. Under Lake Chemistry Data, data are given for Hubley Big Lake in Dec. 1984.
  
  
  • Generic Field Protocol for Water Sampling
    Forwarded by NSE personnel, July 23, 2010
    
    
• Nova Scotia Fisheries and Agiculture: Lake Surveys
  Online maps of surveyed lakes in N.S. are available here. Maps are available for Five Island Lake, Hubley Big lake and Sheldrake Lake,
  
  
• HRM Naturally Green: Lakes and Rivers
  Reports of lake water quality over the last several years and other aspects of lake and river management in HRM. Lakes sampled in the Woodens River system include Black Point Lake, Hubley Big Lake, Sheldrake Lake.
  
  
• Assessment of long-term changes in water quality from Halifax region lakes (Nova Scotia, Canada) using paleolimnological techniques (PDF)
  2009 MSc thesis by T. Rajaratnam, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario. Sheldrake Lake is one of the 51 lakes sampled. Comparison of diatom assemblages between the top and bottom of a core provide evidence of some nutrient enrichment since pre-industrial times.
  
  
• Halifax Watershed Advisory Board
  Guidelines for HRM watersheds are available on this site.
  
  

Other Pertinent HRM and Provincial Websites and Documents

• Nova Scotia's Water Portal - Water for Life
  A site launched Feb 14, 2011. Under Tools & Data are links to various technical reports, datasets, maps etc.
  
  
• Synoptic water quality survey of selected Halifax Regional Municipality lakes on 28-29 march 2000
  
  
• Nova Scotia Environment Erosion & Sedimentation Control Handbook for Construction Sites (PDF: 4.3mb)
  
  
• Mandell, P.R. 1994. The effects of land use changes on water quality of urban lakes in the Halifax/Dartmouth region. MSc thesis,Dalhousie University, March 1994. 170p. Abstract
  
  
• Community Based Environmental Monitoring Network
  This N.S. organization assists individuals, community groups and other organizations in the initiation of environmental monitoring.
  
  
• Background lakes and comparisons in Nova Scotia, Guidelines
  This page on the website of the Soil & Water Conservation Society of Metro Halifax provides some compartive data on phosphorus and other variables in N.S.lakes, as well as OECD guidelines.
  
  
• Nova Scotia Environment's Automated Surface Water Quality Monitoring Network Data Analysis and Interpretative Report 2010
  The near continuous recordings for five rivers and one lake in NS illustrate seasonal fluctutations in key water quality variables.
  
  
• Groundswell: Community-Based Groundwater Monitoring A Nova Scotia-EAC project in which dataloggers are installed in unused wells to monitor water levels.
  
  
• Nova Scotia Watershed Assessment Program &
  Catchment Liming Experiment in Mill Creek, Nova Scotia
  The Nova Scotia Watershed Assessment Program is a Dalhousie University based project :that will provide "a first survey of the major watersheds of Nova Scotia of their impacts from land cover change, water availability, and vulnerability to climate change." The same group has another project investigating the "effectiveness of terrestrial liming yo help reduce the acidity aquatic habitat in Nova Scotia streams and rivers."
  
  
• About the lime doser on West River
  
  
• Natural History of N.S. (N.S. Museum)
  • Fresh Water and Resources
  • Freshwater Hydrology

Other Relevant Documents and Websites

• Effects of Acid Rain
  A set of pages on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website. It includes sections on Surface waters (lakes and streams) and aquatic animals, Forests, Automotive coatings, Materials, Visibility, Human health. Under How Does Acid Rain Affect Fish and Other Aquatic Organisms? pH tolerances are given for trout (5.0 lower limit), bass (5.5), perch (4.5), frogs (4.0), salamanders (5.0), clams (6.0), crayfish 5.5), snails (6.0), mayfly (5.5). (Note that pH tolerances might be somewhat lower or higher for particular populations and sites, however.)
  
  
• Water Related Best Management Practices in the Landscape
  USDA commissioned site with documents pertaining to
  • Water Runoff Management
  • Stream System Protection, Restoration, and Reestablishment
  • Tree Protection and Restoration
    
    
• Is Highway Runoff A Serious Problem?
  Referenced overview. U.S. Department of Transportation document, Updated 1999.
  
  
• International Lake Environment Committee
  Newletters, publications; Survey of the State of World Lakes incudes Kejimkujik Lake.

Selected Papers from the Scientific Literature

Acidification of Surface Waters in Nova Scotia

• Jeziorski, A. et al. 2008. The widespread threat of calcium decline in fresh waters. Science 322 (5906): 1374-1377. Abstract
  
  
• Clair, T.A. et al. 2007. Freshwater acidification research in Atlantic Canada: a review of results and predictions for the future. Environmental Reviews 15:153-167 Abstract
  
  
• Acidification of Organic Waters in Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia Water, Air, & Soil Pollution46, Numbers 1-4 (1989) View List of 36 Papers, with Abstracts
  
  
• Kerekes, J., et al. 1986. Organic versus anthropogenic acidity in tributaries of the Kejimkujik watersheds in Western Nova Scotia. Water, Air & Soil Pollution 31(1-2): 165-173 Abstract
  
  

Paleolimnological Investigations of Historical Conditions and Trends

• Ginn, B.K. et al. 2007. Assessing pH changes since pre-industrial times in 51 low-alkalinity lakes in Nova Scotia, Canada Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 64: 1043-1054 Abstract
  
  
• Thienpont, J.R. et al. 2008.Assessment of Environmental Changes in Three Lakes from King's County (Nova Scotia, Canada) Using Diatom-Based Paleolimnological Techniques Water Quality Research Journal of Canada 43(2-3): 85-98. Abstract
  
  
• Lawlor, L.L. 2006. Chironomidae (Order Diptera) as hypolimnetic oxygen indicators in brook trout lakes in Nova Scotia: a paleolimnological investigation. MSc Thesis. Department of Biology, Queen's University. 100p. Abstract
  
  
• Ginn, P.K. et al. 2009. Ecological distribution of scaled-chrysophyte assemblages from the sediments of 54 lakes in Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick, Canada. Journal of Paleolimnology 43(2): 293-308. Abstract (There is evidence for more seasonal stratification of lakes, possibly associated with climatic warming.)
  
  
• TEAM - Trends in Eutrophication and Acidification in the Maritimes (Queeens University Project): List of Publications, Theses, and Conference Presentations http://post.queensu.ca/~pearl/maritimes/publications.html
  
  

Phosphorus

• Hupfer, M & Lewandowski, J. 2008. Oxygen controls the phosphorus release from lake sediments - a long-lasting paradigm in limnology. International Review of Hydrobiology 93 (4-5):415-432. Abstract
  
  
• Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment . 2006. Development of ecoregion based phosphorus guidelines for Canada: Ontario as a case study. PDF document
  
  

© 2009 Woodens River Watershed Environmental Organization