8. Investigating Water Quality Across Canada
Taking Water Samples
One of the core values at Swim Drink Fish is transparency around water pollution. We believe that it’s a right for people to have access to information about where pollution is entering and what kinds, what water quality tests are saying about their local waters, and how to interpret this information. Not only is it important for environmental advocacy work, but it's also a public health concern if people are recreating in contaminated water. The unfortunate truth is that we often don’t know where the sources of contamination are coming from, and without this information, we can’t work to resolve the issue, and people are further alienated from their water. This is why Swim Drink Fish conducts investigations. We work with partners when needed to identify what the concerns are the source of them and provide recommendations to the proper authorities about how to solve them so our environment and, recreation and drinking water are protected.
Outfall Monitoring at Black Creek
Megan Coad at Black Creek
An example of investigative sampling we did recently was partnering with the University of Toronto Scarborough to conduct outfall monitoring in Black Creek. Toronto has a combined sewer system to manage its waste. You can learn more about what that means here, but generally, it means that when the system is overwhelmed, untreated sewage and wastewater can enter our waterways via outfalls that lead from the main pipe. Although we know approximately where these outfalls are, there are many other pipes entering Black Creek of unknown origin. We worked with our partners to take water samples from various outfalls and test them for E.coli, a common indicator bacteria for sewage, to determine which of the outfalls were combined sewer outfalls, which may be stormwater outfalls, and which may be from a different source.
You can view the results from this sampling here. By collecting this data we are able to have a clearer understanding of where pollutants may be entering the watershed, and inform on future sampling or restoration efforts.
Investigations on the West Coast
As a coastal city, Vancouver has always been connected to its water in some way or another; however, similar to so many other cities, it also deals with pollution concerns from sewage. We have been working with partners to continue building our knowledge about water quality in the Burrard Inlet, with the eventual goal of working on projects to increase swimmablity in the area.
This comes with support from the community who have a strong desire to use the outlet for recreation. Our initial water quality results are promising, with many of our sampling areas have excellent recreational water quality. By having this information we are able to make a stronger case for investments for swimming infrastructure by the City of Vancouver.
Continued Work and Commitment to Transparency
These are just two examples of investigative work we’ve done in the past. At Swim Drink Fish, we conduct investigations when there are questions about water quality that need to be answered. We will continue to work with communities to help them know more about their waterways and empower them with data that fuels more productive advocacy work to restore their local waters.
