DataStream brings people and data together to protect fresh water.

Open data platform

Canada's open access platform for sharing water data

Free to use and scientifically robust. We bring water quality data together across sectors and jurisdictions in standardized formats that make it easy to discover and use.

Computer monitor displaying a scatterplot graph.
271
Monitoring groups
51K
Monitoring sites
41M
Observations
Our Mission

Our mission is to promote knowledge sharing and collaboration so our waters remain healthy for generations to come

DataStream Initiative is a registered Canadian charity dedicated to advancing freshwater protection through open data flows.

Watershed cross-section illustration. Includes farm landscape, water body, wildlife and line graph displaying increasing trends.

Colour-shaded data map of Canada.
Our vision

Freshwater stewardship in Canada is inclusive of public voices and informed by the best available evidence

Communities are equipped to keep pace with climate and other changes within their local watersheds.


A youth monitors the water as part of a community-based monitoring program in the Northwest Territories.

We work with water monitoring initiatives and organizations of all kinds

Meet data contributors

Better Data Means Better Decisions

Communities can drive the data-to-policy cycle. DataStream is designed to support this.

Data-to-policy cycle: monitoring groups, open data, interpretation and knowledge, policy and action, and back to monitoring groups.
Policy & Action
Knowledge can be translated into action to protect the health of watersheds on which we all depend.
Monitoring Groups
Communities are connected to their waters and best-placed to see changes as they happen.
Data-to-policy cycle: monitoring groups, open data, interpretation and knowledge, policy and action, and back to monitoring groups.
Open Data
DataStream provides a place to store, share, and compare water monitoring data across watersheds.
Interpretation & Knowledge
Open data advances scientific knowledge, supports collaboration, and fuels innovation.