A Study Of Water And Sediment Quality As - TO THE TAR SANDS .ca

Creek and Embarras (1968-2003) ranged from 0.003 to 0.2 mg/L (highest in winter)
(Imperial Oil 2006).
The chronic exposure total nitrogen guideline for protection of aquatic life is 1.0
mg/L (Table 3). The water quality data indicate that total nitrogen guidelines are
commonly exceeded in the lakes of the Peace-Athabasca Delta whereas nitrogen
guidelines are not often exceeded in the region’s flowing rivers. It is not possible to
determine whether nitrite guidelines are exceeded in the region since nitrite and nitrate
are reported as one number in the available data.
Levels of nitrogen in the water around Fort Chipewyan do not pose a direct
concern for human health but may pose a concern for aquatic life and indirectly to
humans who depend on wildlife. An abundance of nitrogen in warm and shallow water
may affect humans through environmental nuisances such as odors, eutrophication, and
algal blooms—which can in turn impact aquatic life and waterfowl used for human food.
Coliform Bacteria
Total coliforms were present in the three surface water samples (4-20
colonies/100 mL) but absent in the treated tap water (Table 7). Fecal coliforms were
present in only the Rochers River sample (5 colonies/100 mL).
There are no CCME guidelines for total and fecal coliforms for protection of
aquatic life. For direct contact recreation, the mean of >/= five samples over not more
than a 30-day period should have a total coliform count < 1000 colonies/100 mL and a
fecal coliform count of