Communities and Monitoring Groups

Approximately two-thirds of Alberta's land mass drains into the Mackenzie River Basin, flowing through the Peace, Hay, Liard and Athabasca Rivers and their sub-basins. Water quality monitoring in Alberta is undertaken by a broad range of groups including First Nations, federal and provincial agencies, non-governmental organizations, and engaged individuals. Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils (WPACs) play an important, collaborative role in relationship-building, data and information sharing, and providing direction for water management in order to achieve Alberta’s  Water for Life  Strategy objectives. The Alberta Lake Management Society (ALMS) works closely with WPACs, the province, and citizen scientists to build an evidence base for comprehensive management of lakes and reservoirs in Alberta.

In the Northwest Territories (NWT), water monitoring within the Mackenzie River Basin relies on the joint efforts of multiple actors working to develop a watershed level understanding of water quality. Twenty-one communities are involved in the NWT-wide Community-Based Water Quality Monitoring Program, carried out in collaboration with the territorial government. The NWT Cumulative Impacts Monitoring Program (NWT CIMP) is focused on monitoring cumulative impacts that are relevant to land and water use decisions. Water quality data collected through NWT CIMP projects is accessible on Mackenzie DataStream.