The Edmonton Hub’s Procedures and Sources

Water Quality Guidelines

The Edmonton Hub follows the standards set by Alberta’s 2022 Safe Beach Protocol, established by the Government of Alberta. The Safe Beach Protocol standard states that a sites fail to meet recreational water quality guidelines if two or more samples (minimum of 3 samples) exceed 6400 CCE of Enterococcus, OR at levels of Enterococcus between 1280 CCE and 6400 CCE where microbial source tracking identified human or ruminant Enterococcus species to be present.

Field Protocol

During field visits, staff and community scientists take a minimum of three samples at each location. The samples are taken in accordance with permissive procedures outlined in Swim Drink Fish’s Standard Operating Procedures. Sampling in Edmonton varies from the SOP in that we use bottles instead of whirl paks to collect our water samples. Water Ranger’s Data is also collected at one location per sampling site each time we sample.

Analysis in the Lab

At the lab, which is operated by the University of Alberta School of Public Health, the samples are processed in accordance with United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Method 1611: Enterococci in Water by TaqMan® Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) Assay procedure. Samples are filtered through a membrane filter. The membrane containing the bacterial cells and DNA is then placed in a microcentrifuge tube with glass beads and buffer, and then agitated to extract the DNA into solution. The supernatant is used for PCR amplification and detection of target sequences using the TaqMan® Universal master mix PCR reagent and probe system. Data from the environmental observation and chain of custody documentation is then immediately digitized in Swim Drink Fish’s database for storage and data sharing.

Record-keeping ensures the integrity of water quality monitoring, thus physical and digital backup copies of all data are always stored and logged.

Where we Share our Results

  • The Swim Guide

    Swim Guide is a beach and recreational water information service that connects millions of people with water each year. With both its web platform and mobile app, Swim Guide makes it easy for you to connect with water by helping you find places to go and learn the water quality conditions before diving in.

    Explore the Edmonton's Swim Guide Results

  • Swim Guide Open Data Portal

    Swim Guide’s open data portal shares the recreational water quality data collected by Swim Drink Fish’s monitoring hubs in an open, machine readable format. The data is formatted to be in accordance with the Open Data Standard for the Automated Exchange of Recreational Water Quality Data.

    Edmonton Hubs Open Data Portal

  • Water Rangers DataStream

    Water Rangers believes that when it comes to water, ignorance is anything but bliss. Making water quality data “open” means that people don’t have to rely on government officials or on scientists to provide them with information regarding the health of their local water bodies. Instead, everyone is given the opportunity to take a look at and understand what’s going on with the water around them.

    Explore the Water Rangers Database

  • Water Quality Alerts

    Sign up to get an email every time we have water quality results.

    Click Here

FAQs

  • Swim Drink Fish collects at least 3 samples at every site, every time we monitor. We collect samples from the same location every time, following the protocols in government guidelines.

  • Just like the weather, water quality changes daily. Swim Drink Fish community monitoring hub staff test water in the same locations at least 1-2 times a week so that the results are as up-to-date as possible. Many local governments also monitor weekly.

  • Water quality changes all the time. Water that meets government guidelines one day may fail the next day. This does not mean that the old results were wrong. It just means that conditions changed.

  • Government guidelines for water quality are all based on risk assessments. Health Canada estimates that there will be 10-20 illnesses for every 1,000 people who swim in waters that meet government guidelines. That rate of 1-2% is considered an acceptable level of risk by government officials. Once bacteria levels exceed government guidelines, the risk of contracting an illness increases.

  • There are two ways that samples can "fail” to meet government guidelines.If samples contain above 6400 CCE (calibrator cell equivalents) of Enterococci, or if they contain betwen 1280 CCE and 6400 CCE, and microbial source tracking determines that human or ruminant species of Enterococcus are present.

    Beaches fail when two or more single samples are above guideline levels. A minimum of three samples are collected at a beach.

    These guidelines are from the Alberta Safe Beach Protocol (2022), which is based upon the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Recreational Water Quality Criteria.