Conservation staff monitor local streams.
World Water Monitoring Day - October 18th
MONITORING KEY TO SAFE, CLEAN WATER
Water quality monitoring is one of the key tools used to assess whether our water is safe, healthy and clean for human consumption as well as the natural environment. It so happens that October 18th is World Water Monitoring Day giving us an opportunity to pause and think, however briefly, about the water monitoring programs in our local watershed area.
Water quality monitoring occurs at three levels. In our watershed, there are many organizations involved in water quality monitoring, including Otonabee Conservation, The Peterborough County-City Health Unit and the City of Peterborough. Trained professionals frequently test our streams, lakes and rivers for trends or changes in chemistry or biodiversity. This testing monitors the environmental health of our streams, lakes and rivers. It is much easier and less expensive to keep water clean in the first place than to treat it for removal of contaminants afterwards. Commonly, samples would be tested for dissolved oxygen, phosphorus, total nitrogen, total suspended solids, bacteria and possibly other characteristics.
The City of Peterborough currently has about 20 water sampling sites (primarily storm sewer outlets) routinely sampled for parameters including road salt, bacteria and total suspended solids. The Peterborough County-City Health Unit also tests 15 local beaches during the summer months to ensure that water quality is acceptable for swimming.
Otonabee Conservation regularly tests 57 surface water sites including the Otonabee, Indian and Ouse Rivers and the Kawartha Lakes. In 2006, Otonabee Conservation also sampled 27 sites to monitor water quality using a biological indicator – benthic macroinvertebrates. Benthic macroinvertebrates, or the “bugs” that live in the bottom of watercourses, are present in all aquatic ecosystems. Their ability to escape unfavourable habitat conditions is limited because of their sedentary nature. For this reason, the presence and abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates at a point location can provide an accurate measure of the conditions of our water.
Secondly, staff that operate municipal drinking water systems carry out regular testing of drinking water distributed to their citizens. Municipalities are required to test drinking water for a broad range of characteristics including 84 different health-based parameters.
This rigorous, daily checking is very important to ensure the safety and security of municipal water supplies.
The third level of water quality monitoring happens where individual families have private wells that draw raw water directly from a groundwater aquifer. In this case, it is up to the individual families to ensure that they sample their water and have it tested on a regular basis. It is recommended that private well water be tested for bacteria and nitrates at least three times a year and after major plumbing work. Bacterial testing for private wells is provided free of charge by the Ontario Ministry of Health. Again, private well testing is critical because there is simply no other barrier between your family’s health and the water they drink.
Each of us has a role to play in keeping our water safe and clean. For more information on local water quality monitoring programs, please contact Otonabee Conservation, The City of Peterborough or the Peterborough County City-Health Unit.
And Happy Water Quality Monitoring Day to you all!