These research projects placed emphasis on surface water quality monitoring and evaluation and the application of this information for effective management of water resources. Much of this work was conducted on at the watershed level, but in a way that information, models and procedures developed could be used and compared across watersheds throughout Canada.

The cumulative effects and associated responses of watersheds to activities, including hydroelectric, industrial, urban and agriculture activities, were evaluated in terms of assimilative capacity, water quantity, quality and toxicity.

Water resource management projects

• Estimating the assimilative capacity of the Saint John River, led by Dr. Kelly Munkittrick, Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick
• Forecasting climate change impacts on regional hydrology and water supply in Canada, co-led by Dr. James Byrne, Department of Geography, University of Lethbridge and Dr. Mohammed Dore, Department of Economics, Brook University
• Human impacts of water quality and quantity, the implications for ecological and socio-economic processes, and policy development: from glaciers to oceans in the Saskatchewan River Basin, led by Dr. Leland Jackson, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary
• Non-point sources of pollution, cumulative effects and mitigation in urban/rural fringe watersheds, led by Dr. Hans Schreier, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia
• The influence of agricultural and industrial emissions on metal toxicity in the Great Lakes and the Grand River Basin, led by Dr. David Lean, Department of Biology, University of Ottawa
• Understanding potential impacts of development in pristine arctic environments on water quality using nested hydrological studies, led by Dr. Mike English, Department of Geography and Environmental Services, Wilfrid Laurier University