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The more members we have, the stronger our voice is when it comes to watershed management.

Nola Alt, Columbia Basin Watershed Network Steering Committee Friends of Columbia Wetlands

Water Quality Monitoring

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Water stewards working in their local watershed doing water quality monitoring.

Maintaining and protecting water quality is a priority for local watershed groups in the Columbia Basin. In 2005, local watershed groups participating in a symposium hosted by Columbia Basin Trust, confirmed monitoring water quality as a key priority.

In response, Columbia Basin Trust provided funding for a pilot project to allow local watershed groups to develop a long-term water quality monitoring project. The three goals of the pilot project are:

  • Develop a science-based model for community-based water quality monitoring;

  • Establish online accessibility to water quality data; and

  • Link the monitoring project with community awareness activities.

This pilot project will test the feasibility of long-term monitoring involving watershed groups from across the Columbia Basin and establish a database to store historic, current and future water quality data.

Watershed Groups Get Involved

Several local watershed groups in the Columbia Basin got involved in this important water quality monitoring project at the outset. Volunteers were trained in Environment Canada's Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network (CABIN) data collection protocol to ensure a consistent and scientific approach. Today eight local watershed groups are involved.

Four groups got involved initially:

  • Slocan River Streamkeepers Society (Winlaw)

  • Salmo Watershed Streamkeepers Society (Salmo)

  • Mark Creek Recovery Program Wildsight (Kimberley)

  • Joseph Creek Streamkeepers -Kootenay River Network-BC (Cranbrook)

In 2009, four other watershed groups got involved and are now participating in the Water Quality Monitoring Project including:

  • Arrow Lakes Environmental Stewardship Society (Burton)

  • Friends of the Lardeau River (Howser)

  • Lake Windermere Project (Invermere)

  • Upper Columbia Program - Wildsight (Golden)