Surface Water Quality Monitoring Network Grab Sample Water Quality Data

The Nova Scotia Automated Surface Water Quality Monitoring Network was established in 2002 to assess water quality in surface waters across the province at five stations. In 2019 the station list was modified to reduce overlap with Environment and Climate Change Canada surface water quality monitoring stations. The results are used to help manage water resources, determine baseline water quality in lakes and watercourses throughout the province, evaluate the impact of human activities on surface water, and assess long term trends in water quality.

Citation

Government of Nova Scotia, Environment and Climate Change. 2023-04-27. "Surface Water Quality Monitoring Network Grab Sample Water Quality Data" (dataset). 3.0.0. DataStream. https://doi.org/10.25976/sfmj-kf56.

Funding Sources

Government of Nova Scotia

Data Collection Information

Starting in 2019 water quality samples are collected typically four times per year at five watercourse sites: Shelburne River at Pollard's Falls Bridge, East River at Plymouth Park Road, Kelley River at Eight Mile Ford, Southwest Margaree River near Upper Margaree and Salmon River at Murray. Prior to 2019 samples were collected at the following five sites: St Mary's River at Stillwater, Shelburne River at Pollard's Falls Bridge, Northeast Margaree River at Margaree Valley, Kelley River at Eight Mile Ford and LaHave River at West Northfield. The samples are submitted to the Nova Scotia Environmental Services Laboratory operated by the Nova Scotia Health Authority in Halifax, NS for analysis. Field parameters are measured using a Hydrolab multi-parameter probe. The following are the monitored water quality parameters and applicable measurement units: field temperature (°C), field pH (-), field conductivity (mmhos/cm), field dissolved oxygen (mg/L), field turbidity (NTU), select metals (µg/L), calcium (mg/L), magnesium (mg/L), hardness as CaCO3 (mg/L), lab conductivity (umho/cm), lab pH (-), lab turbidity (NTU), alkalinity as CaCO3 (mg/L), chloride (mg/L), colour (TCU), silica (mg/L), sulphate (mg/L), total nitrogen (mg/L), nitrate and nitrite as N (mg/L), ammonia as N (mg/L), orthophosphorus as P, (mg/L), total phosphorus (mg/L), total suspended solids (mg/L), total organic carbon (mg/L), chlorophyll a (mg/m3) and pheophytin (µg/L). In 2019, additional metals and dissolved organic carbon (mg/L) were added to the lab parameter list.

Seven of the stations are located on watercourses and are co-located with Water Survey of Canada hydrometric stations. East River is located near a hydrometric/water level station maintained by the Town of Stellarton. Shelburne River, Northeast Margaree River, Kelley River and LaHave River stations are co-located with automated Hydrolab water quality probes.

Data Collection Processing

N/A

Open Government Licence (OGL)

See disclaimer for details. https://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada

Data Disclaimer

The Province of Nova Scotia makes no representations, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of the information, maps and other data provided through this application. The mapping is a graphical representation not based on survey and cannot be used for any legal or navigational purpose. Any conclusions drawn or decisions made, based on an interpretation of the data, are the sole responsibility of the user. By continuing to use the application, the user agrees to the terms of this disclaimer.

API Access

curl -G https://api.datastream.org/v1/odata/v4/Records --data-urlencode "\\$filter=DOI eq '10.25976/sfmj-kf56'" -H "x-api-key: PRIVATE-API-KEY"

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