| Abstract/Description or Keywords |
The Elk River watershed is located in the southeast corner of British Columbia, and drains 4450 km2 of the Rocky Mountains to the Kootenay River/Lake Koocanusa about 20 km upstream from the border with the United States. It is the most heavily-fished river in the Kootenays, with large populations of westslope cutthroat trout, bull trout and whitefish. The upper most water quality sampling station on the Elk River is located near Sparwood. This assessment is based on up to four years of water quality data during 2002-2005. The main human activities in the Elk River watershed are open pit coal mining, forestry, outdoor tourism, and residential and commercial development. The water quality trends identified below have not yet been confirmed by statistical analysis. CONCLUSIONS: • Selenium concentrations always exceeded both CCME and B.C. guidelines for the protection of aquatic life. These high values are associated with high suspended solids concentrations from active open pit mining. • Fluoride concentrations may be showing a slight trend to decreasing concentrations; however, a longer period of record is needed to confirm this possible trend. • Turbidity, fecal coliform and e. coli concentrations exceeded source water protection guidelines for use of the water with disinfection only. This means that the water should have partial treatment to remove both turbidity and improve the removal of bacteria. • Otherwise, water quality was generally good with only occasional values exceeding guidelines for dissolved cadmium and true colour. In cases where total metal concentrations exceeded guideline values, these were generally correlated with higher turbidity concentrations, meaning that the metals were likely in particulate form and not biologically available. RECOMMENDATIONS: We recommend monitoring be continued for the Elk River at Sparwood since it serves as an upstream station for the Elk River at Elko site. Water quality indicators that are important for future monitoring are: • flow, water temperature, specific conductivity, pH, turbidity, nutrients, and dissolved oxygen, • appropriate forms of metals for comparison to their respective guidelines, and • other variables related to drinking water such as colour. |
