Water Stewardship Information Sources
| ID | 418 |
|---|---|
| Citation | Dessouki, TCE. 2009. Water Quality Assessment of the Okanagan River near Oliver, British Columbia (1990-2007). BC Ministry of Environment and Environment Canada. |
| Organization | Ministry of Environment |
| URL | http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wat/wq/quality/okanagan_riv/okanagan-riv-07.pdf |
| Abstract/Description or Keywords | This report assesses eighteen years of water quality data from the Okanagan River at Oliver, B.C. The Okanagan River originates from Okanagan Lake near Penticton and flows south before draining into Osoyoos Lake, a trans-boundary water body (Figure 1). This station was established and has been monitored on the Okanagan River since 1979 and is currently sampled biweekly (every two weeks). Urbanization, agriculture and logging are the major human impacts threatening water quality in the Okanagan River Basin. Data that had quality assurance checks performed (i.e., known errors were removed) were compared primarily to the B.C. Environment's Approved and Working Guidelines for Water Quality, and secondarily to the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life Guidelines. Of special interest were water quality levels and trends that are deemed deleterious to sensitive water uses such as aquatic life and drinking water. CONCLUSIONS ? The water quality of the Okanagan River at Oliver, for the period 1990 through 2007, is largely improving with numerous parameters with decreasing concentrations; however, there has been an increase in the concentration of specific major ions and a decreasing trend in flow. ? Many parameters had statistically significant increasing trends: dissolved chloride, fecal coliforms, hardness, extractable magnesium, molybdenum, strontium and turbidity. ? Many parameters had statistically significant decreasing trends: aluminum, chromium, colour, copper, flow, iron, lithium, manganese, pH, phosphorus, potassium and zinc. ? Although water temperature is seasonally decreasing, peak summer water temperatures continue to exceed the B.C. aquatic life guideline of 18ﾰC. Although true colour, total copper, fluoride, total iron and pH measurements have historically exceeded B.C. or CCME guidelines, these parameters are currently below guideline values. ? Total aluminum concentrations seasonally exceeded the guidelines that are expressed as dissolved concentrations of the metal. ? A number of metals need to be measured differently if comparisons are to be made to guideline values as these exist. The metals and forms required to be measured are aluminum (dissolved and inorganic monomeric, when available), chromium (trivalent and hexavalent), and iron (continue to measure total but also dissolved). |
| Information Type | report |
| Regional Watershed | Okanagan |
| Sub-watershed if known | Okanagan River |
| Aquifer # | |
| Comments | |
| Project status | complete |
| Contact Name | Tarik Dessouki |
| Contact Email | [email protected] |