Sampling Stations
From Item No. Info 2, North West Community Council May 12, 2025: Bedford West Water Quality Status:
A water quality monitoring program has been ongoing in the Bedford West Secondary Plan area since 2009, through Development Agreements executed under the Bedford West Secondary Planning Strategy. Results from the fall 2024 sampling event, the 2024 Final Report for the monitoring program are presented in this report….
The full final report from the 2024 Bedford West sampling program prepared by WSP Canada Inc is
available on the halifax.ca website.
From the Full Final Report
Total Phosphorus
All eleven monitoring stations reported concentrations that exceeded HRM’s Total Phosphorus (TP) management threshold criterion of 0.01 mg/L in Spring, Summer and Fall events (including resampling events) of 2024. The maximum concentration reported was 0.088 mg/L at location HWY-102-1 during the fall sampling event. This may be an indication of a decline in surface water quality, which could be due to activities such as nutrient loading, wastewater discharge and stormwater runoff.
Comment: The sampled watersheds include Paper Mill and Kearney Lakes, NOT Sandy Lake. The trends are of interest as they could indicate what lies ahead for the adjacent Sandy lake watershed with further development. It’s a concern given the trend now of increasing deep water phosphorus in Sandy Lake and the first verified occurrence of a BGA bloom in Sandy Lake last fall. With climate warming and ongoing development, ee need more stringent safeguards for our lakes!