Groundwater is flowing water that is found below the ground, that is often stored in aquifers. Groundwater is monitored at 23 sites in our watershed through the Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network (PGMN). Groundwater quality for this report was graded on chloride and nitrogen (nitrate + nitrite) levels.
Chloride and nitrogen can exist naturally, however natural levels in water are generally minimal. Increased levels in our waterways can be related to:
- the use of road salts (chloride only)
- septic systems
- fertilizers and manure
- industrial discharge
- erosion
What's different in this report card?
Previous watershed report cards only used five years of data to come up with their findings. This report card uses a minimum of ten years of data, or more if it was available for a better view of long term trends.
Our Findings:
- Chloride levels at all tested sites received a grade of A (excellent).
- Nitrogen levels at most (86%) of the sites received a grade of A (excellent).
- Two sites received nitrogen grades of B (good) and one site received a D (poor).
Different nitrogen grades from these sites could be caused by using more data from a longer period of time. The three sites that did not receive an A grade are in locations where we might expect to see higher levels of nitrogen, based on their environments.
Note:
- These findings are not to be considered indicators of drinking water quality.
- Groundwater quality results being reported are specific to the site location and do not apply to the watershed as a whole.
- No biological levels (ie. E.coli) were considered.
Learn about groundwater:
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