Assessment of Water Quality in the Brokenhead River Watershed

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Figure 14. Color (top panel – measured as dissolved organic carbon –DOC) and conductivity in the 6 subwatersheds of the Brokenhead River in 2007 (vertical bars are the standard deviation of the mean of three sampling periods). In contrast to the differences noted above for phosphorus and nitrogen among the six subwatersheds, there did not appear to be any appreciable differences in water color or conductivity between the sites in 2007 (Figure 14). Subwatershed A had slightly less color than the other subwatersheds, and B had slightly more color and less conductivity than the other watersheds. There were also no large differences between the six subwatersheds with respect to dominant ions (calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium), sulphate and pH (data not shown). 34 | P age
Figure 15. Turbidity in the 6 subwatersheds of the Brokenhead River in 2007 (vertical bars are the standard deviation of the mean of three sampling periods). There were marked diffenence in turbidity between the three southern subwatersheds (A, B and C) and the 3 more northern subwatersheds (Figure 15). In particular, there was a marked stepwise increase in turbidity between subwatersheds D and E. Both subwatersheds E and F had much higher levels of turbidity that the other subwatersheds. As with the phosphorus data, this may be due to the presence of agricultural land uses in the latter two subwatersheds, and to the presence of an extensive network of farm drains. The higher turbidity levels in subwatersheds E and F are consistent with an increase in the proportion of particulate phosphorus observered, and suggests increased rates of erosion in these watersheds compared to the more forested and undeveloped subwatersheds to the south (e.g., subwatersheds A, B and C). Finally, samples were collected for E. coli in at each sampling site. E.coli is a pathogen that is found in animal waste (feces) and is commonly an indicator of contaminaton from sewage or runoff from livestock operations. It is important to note however, that naturally high levels of E. coli can also occur as a result of, for example, high beaver populations. 35 | P age
Page 1 and 2: Assessment of Water Quality in the
Page 3 and 4: Executive Summary A pilot project w
Page 5 and 6: opportunities. Based on this assess
Page 7 and 8: Table 1. Water quality sampling loc
Page 9 and 10: alkalinity, bicarbonate, carbonate
Page 11 and 12: Figure 2. Digital elevation model o
Page 13 and 14: species such as black spruce, tamar
Page 15 and 16: Figure 4. Land cover in the Brokenh
Page 17 and 18: Table 3. Land cover classes in the
Page 19 and 20: Table 4. Soil surface texture in th
Page 21 and 22: Figure 7. Soil drainage class in th
Page 23 and 24: Figure 8. Agricultural capability i
Page 25 and 26: Agricultural Activities AA-F and PF
Page 27 and 28: Figure 9. Concentration of total ph
Page 29 and 30: in the rivers. Phosphorus concentra
Page 31 and 32: ottom panel). There is a higher per
Page 33: Figure 13. Nitrate (NO 3 - upper pa
Page 37 and 38: Training of Youth An important comp
Page 39 and 40: A field trip was held on May 28, 20
Page 41 and 42: Recommendations This pilot study pr
Page 43 and 44: Appendix A. Water Quality Data in t
Page 45 and 46: MB05 SAS 037 2007 Seasonal Variatio
Page 47 and 48: Appendix B. Photos of Water Quality
Page 49 and 50: MB05SAS037 (Highway 15 near Vivian)
Page 51 and 52: MB05SAS0034 (Highway 12 north of Hi

Assessment of Water Quality in the Brokenhead River Watershed

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