Testing the Water Quality of the Englishman River

On Tuesday, November 9th, 2004, AWCS members Gord Buckingham and Michael Jessen received training to become official testers for the Federal Government as it monitors the quality of the water in the Englishman River. Following are some of the photographs taken during this training session. (The newspaper article covering this event may be viewed from our "News Events" page - "Laymen Learning the Ropes of Water Testing").

What Do We Mean By 'Good Water'?

Drinking Water Protection Act
Government of British Columbia's Water Resource Information

Safe, clean drinking water is what we expect when we turn on our taps.  According to Environment Canada, pure water is both tasteless and odourless, and a molecule of water contains only hydrogen and oxygen atoms. But, water is never found in a pure state in nature. Both groundwater and surface water may contain microorganisms, gases, inorganic and organic materials.

Iowa Public Television has prepared a web page on water issues and reports, in keeping with general knowledge, that water is absolutely essential for survival. A person may survive for a month without food, but only about a week without water. People can't survive on just any water - they need to have clean water to drink. Clean water contributes to good health; contaminated water can cause disease and even death.

As noted by the experts on the web sites mentioned above, the water of even the healthiest rivers and lakes is not absolutely pure. All water (even if it is distilled) contains many naturally occurring substances – mainly bicarbonates, sulphates, sodium, chlorides, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. However, in a healthy environment, water is purified in large part by the routine actions of living organisms. Energy from sunlight drives the process of photosynthesis in aquatic plants, which produces oxygen to break down some of the organic material such as plant and animal waste. This decomposition produces the carbon dioxide, nutrients and other substances needed by plants and animals living in the water. The purification cycle continues when these plants and animals die and the bacteria decompose them, providing new generations of organisms with nourishment.

Unfortunately, there are many toxic substances in our water that are affected only slowly, or not at all, by this purification cycle and other processes. These are called persistent contaminants and are of great environmental concern. Persistent contaminants do not behave as we would wish within the natural cleaning cycle. Therefore, learning how to protect our water sources and to avoid contaminating our water supply is crucial. Learning how to deal with a growing list of contaminants after the fact, once our water has become polluted, will be our fate if we fail in our protection efforts.

Some Water Quality Facts (see Environment Canada)

• Approximately 57% of Canadians are served by wastewater treatment plants, compared with 74% of Americans, 86.5% of Germans, and 99% of Swedes.
• In developing nations, 80% of diseases are water-related.
• Of all Canadians, 26% rely on groundwater for domestic use.
• One drop of oil can render up to 25 litres of water unfit for drinking.
• One gram of 2,4-D (a common household herbicide) can contaminate ten million litres of drinking water.
• One gram of PCBs can make up to one billion litres of water unsuitable for freshwater aquatic life.
• One gram of lead in 20 000 litres of water makes it unfit for drinking. Older homes often contain plumbing made of lead or soldered in lead, which can then leach into water.
• The nitrates in fertilizers promote excessive growth of algae and larger aquatic plants, causing offensive algal blooms and driving out sport fish.
• Methane gas can often be seen bubbling up from the bottom of ponds; it is produced by the decomposition of dead plants and animals in the mud.
• Calcium and magnesium – both essential elements for man – account for most water hardness. Death rates for certain types of cardiovascular disease have been found to be higher in soft water areas than in hard water areas in many parts of the world.
• Copper is another essential element – for optimal absorption and metabolism of iron and for bone formation – and fairly common in natural water. More than one milligram per litre may make water unpalatable.

What Determines Water Quality?

Contaminants in the water can reach the surface and the groundwater from many sources including the surrounding vegetation and wildlife, precipitation and runoff from adjacent land, and the effects of human activities, including our attempts to disinfect the water.

To identify the substances present in streams, rivers, or lakes, water samples, which include living organisms, as well as suspended and bottom sediments are collected and later analyzed. Certain measurements such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and conductivity can be taken in the field with portable equipment.

Environment Canada tells us that today's analytical laboratory instruments such as "plasma emission spectrometers" (for analysing metals) and "gas chromatograph-mass spectrometers" (for analysing pesticides, PCBs dioxins, and other organic compounds) – bear little resemblance to the test-tube and gas burner laboratories of the 1950s. Unfortunatly, new testing procedures and testing equipment can be expensive. Learning how to test most effectively, efficiently, and economically is essential for all communities.

Many communities within North America are currently making efforts to assess, test, understand, and protect their water supply sources. One group has organized a campaign called the 'Campaign for Safe and Affordable Drinking Water'. Their organization assists individuals in learning how to exercise their RIGHT TO KNOW, to obtain copies of their local water reports from their water service providers, and to understand the water report results. A pdf document explaining their position is available for download from their web site.

Within our own area, the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) has offices in Nanaimo and in Parksville. The RDN conducts weekly testing on thirteen local systems for fecal coliform, and tests the wellheads in those systems once a year for metals. The results of these water tests are available to interested parties. Whether these tests adequately assess today's water concerns is a matter of debate. There are also many local areas that are not covered by the RDN's testing program. In particular, families and individuals on wells, and areas covered by private water services are not included. Towns, including the Town of Qualicum Beach conducts its own testing. See Qualicum Beach Water Quality Test Example.

With respect to the quality of our water, it is only as we educate ourselves about water, how it is tested, and the meaning of those results will we be in a position to work with our local water authorities to help ensure that we will continue to have access to clean, plentiful, and safe water. We must remember that a clean, safe, and sufficient water supply is NOT ASSURED. It is only through the active participation of our citizenry to protect our water sources that we have our best hope.

START LEARNING - START HELPING - GET INVOLVED