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Alberta Agricultural Water Quality Index:
S.L. Depoe, J.J.Wuite,R.D.Neilson
Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (AAFRD)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
National Water Quality Monitoring Conference Chattanooga, Tennessee May 2004
A communication andawareness tool
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Water Quality Index
Used as a tool to communicate findings of ambient monitoring program
Education and awareness builds capacity for land stewardship
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Long-term stream monitoring program: AESA Stream Survey
Alberta, Canada
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Agricultural Area of Alberta
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Background:Agriculture and Water Quality in Alberta
Negative correlation between stream water quality and watershedagricultural intensity
(Anderson et al. 1998)
Agricultural Intensity
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Monitoring Goals
Assess water quality impacts associated with agriculture in AlbertaImprove comprehension water quality issuesTarget management effortsAssess trends in stream quality over time
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Background:Agriculture and Water Quality in Alberta
Watershed selection:– Agricultural intensity
indicators– Climate– Soil and landform runoff
characteristics23 Study Watersheds
Agricultural Intensity
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Parameters
Nutrients
Bacteria
Pesticides
Nitrogen and
PhosphorusFeCaL COLIFORMS
AND E.COLI
Over 40 compounds
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Alberta AgriculturalWater Quality Index
A simple metric of agricultural WQ stressors 30 physico-chemical variablesOverall Index Score = Average of 3 equally-weighted sub-indices
1. Nutrients2. Fecal bacteria3. Pesticides
Ranges from 0 – 100, Poor to ExcellentReported annually
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Water Quality Objectives
Baseline conditions – Median concentrations in 27 small agricultural streams sampled from 1995 to 1998In most cases, objectives are more stringent than provincial and federal surface water quality guidelines (aquatic life)
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TPTDPTKNTN
NO2+NO3-NNH4-N
OverallAAWQI
=Nutrients + Fecal Bacteria + Pesticidesaverage of 3 sub-indices
fecal coliformsE. coli
2,4-Ddicambapicloramclopyralid
MCPAetc..
3
AAQWI
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Formulation
Index = 100 - √F12 + F2
2 + F32( )
1.732Score
F1: Scope – How many parameters exceeded objectives?
F2: Frequency – How frequently?
F3: Amplitude – By how much?
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Example: Nutrient sub-index
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OverallAAWQI
Nutrients + Fecal Bacteria + Pesticides =3
37 55 85 59
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Successes
Simple and conciseMeasures against own baselineSub-indices address issue of index dilution Flags areas of concern for further investigation, and helps targetmanagement efforts e.g. Nutrient Score = Poor
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Limitations/Improvements
Annual index score affected by flow regime due to flow-proportionate design Number of pesticide included in index exceeds the number detected in streams (diluting the index)Covarying parameters – necessary to include all?
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Water Quality Indices….
Provide a meaningful summary of overall water quality in a single number and/or narrative statement
Are not a stand-alone tool for managing water bodies
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Sarah DepoeWater Quality [email protected], Alberta(780) 432-5975