Preserving Our Lifeline
working together to nurture , renew and protect
the waters of the bow river basin
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Volume 14 | Issue 4
December 2014
Bow River Water Quality Monitoring
Cecilia Chung, Water Quality Specialist
Alberta Environment and Sustainable
Resource Development
Alberta Environment
and Sustainable Resource
Development (ESRD) has
been providing provincewide water quality
monitoring in Alberta
since its inception in the
1970s. This 2-part series
introduces the current
water quality monitoring
program in the Bow
River Basin. Part 1 (in the
September 2014 issue)
discussed long-term,
annual projects; here, Part
2 presents a few other
shorter-termed projects
and ongoing studies.
I
n addition to long-term, annual
projects such as long-term river
network monitoring, macrophyte
sampling and lakes and reservoirs
monitoring, ESRD is also involved
It’s Happening on Your River (Part 2 of 2)
in a number of other monitoring
initiatives in the Bow River Basin.
Many of these projects are in support
of Watershed Planning and Advisory
Councils (WPACs), providing important
monitoring data to guide planning
and decision making. The 2014-2015
monitoring season included additional
monitoring in the Sheep River,
Highwood River and lower tributaries
of the Bow River.
In the past year, there substantial
progress has been made on the
modelling of the Bow River. A
significant portion of this work was
done in support of the Bow River
Phosphorus Management Plan, which
was published in April 2014. The need
for more data to guide phosphorus
management has spurred additional
monitoring in the lower tributaries
of the Bow River, with a focus on
Crowfoot Creek, and East and West
Arrowwood creeks. Crowfoot Creek
is the main tributary to the Bow River
within the Crowfoot Creek sub-basin;
the Arrowwood creeks also contribute
substantial flows, particularly from
March to April. This area experiences
intense agricultural activity, which
may subsequently impact surface
water quality in the streams through
nutrient, bacterial and pesticide
inputs. Information gathered from
this monitoring will help not only to
refine our models by providing more
accurate estimations of tributary
inputs into the Bow River, but also to
observe the degree of land-use impact
on surface water quality.
Continued on page 2
IN THIS
Issue
1 Bow River Water Quality
Monitoring, Part 2
3 Riparian Protection: A Nose
Creek Sub-Basin Tour
4 The Ramsar Convention
5 The Pace of Change
7 Partner Event: MD of Bighorn
8 AGENDA: BRBC December
Education & Networking
Forum
1
Page 2
“Surface waters in our provinces are a valuable resource and require
careful management...”
Continued from page 1
Threepoint Creek flows into the
Sheep River, which then flows into the
Highwood River. As the Highwood
River is a major tributary of the Bow
River, monitoring all three streams
helps us to evaluate the health
of each stream as well as what is
entering the Bow River at the mouth
of the Highwood. In the wake of the
2013 southern Alberta flood, there
is increasing work on flood-related
projects around the Bow River Basin,
especially around the Highwood and
Bow rivers. Amassing this monitoring
data will help to provide baseline
information for upcoming projects
and better evaluate associated
implications for water quality.
To lessen anthropogenic pressure
on the Highwood River, the Town of
High River and Cargill Ltd. discharge
their treated effluent into Frank Lake
rather than into the Highwood River.
Frank Lake is a restored wetland
managed by Ducks Unlimited Canada,
located east of High River. Although
not situated in the Bow River Basin,
the use of Frank Lake decreases the
amount of tributary input into the
Bow River, helping to maintain the
health of the Bow. A dye study was
performed in Frank Lake in September
2014, in support of existing modelling
work and management of the lake.
The objective of the dye study was
to improve understanding of basin
circulation, such that we are able to
better evaluate the performance and
effectiveness of the lake. Results will
be made available in early 2015.
ESRD also undertook a major project
in mid-August 2014: a synoptic
survey for the Alberta portion of the
South Saskatchewan River Basin.
The survey aimed to identify point
source loadings (with tributaries
also acting as point sources) at low
flow conditions, and comprised
tracking a parcel of water from the
headwaters of the Red Deer, the Bow
and the Oldman rivers as it travels
downstream and joins into the South
Saskatchewan River. The Alberta
Environmental Monitoring, Evaluation
and Reporting Agency (AEMERA) team
sampled at 130 sites over two weeks,
around the clock, following a strict
sampling schedule dictated by timeof-travel calculations. Wastewater
treatment plants in the basin assisted
in procuring effluent samples, which
provides important context for our in-
West Arrowwood Creek in the Crowfoot Creek sub-basin; photos taken monthly from March to June , 2014.
Photo: Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development
stream water samples. While the field
portion is completed, work continues
on the organization and evaluation of
the collected data. Results from the
2014 South Saskatchewan River Basin
Synoptic Study will be reported in the
upcoming year.
Surface waters in our province
are a valuable resource and require
careful management, especially in a
basin such as the Bow, where there
is substantial urban development
in addition to agricultural land use.
Monitoring is an integral step in our
understanding of Alberta surface
waters, in order that appropriate
decisions can be made regarding the
use of these systems. Any information
gathered from surface water quality
monitoring is freely available to the
public, and can be found at http://
esrd.alberta.ca/water/reports-data/
surface-water-quality-data/default.
aspx.
For more information, contact
Cecilia Chung (Limnologist, ESRD) at
[email protected] or Wendell
Koning (Limnologist, ESRD) at wendell.
[email protected].
Page 3
Riparian Protection:
A Nose Creek Sub-Basin Tour
Sierra Matis, 2014 Summer Student
Alberta Environment and Sustainable
Resource Development
Growing up, I have
driven past the Bow River
countless times with my
family on our way to the
mountains for summers
filled with outdoor
adventures...
T
hrough these trips, I experienced
the river from a recreational
standpoint. This year however, my
work as a summer student with
Alberta Environment and Sustainable
Resource Development has
significantly altered my perspective on
the Bow River and its tributaries. As I
took a drive with Rockyview County’s
agricultural field man, Tim Dietzler,
around the Nose Creek sub-basin, I
was able to see what challenges the
basin has faced over the years and the
current steps being taken to overcome
some of these challenges. With the
development and implementation
of the Nose Creek Watershed
water Management Plan, and
implementation of other partnership
initiatives, we are able to see progress
in maintaining and protecting riparian
areas.
Riparian areas are transitional zones
located between terrestrial and
aquatic environments. These areas
act as natural water filters, provide
habitat for a range of species and
help to prevent erosion. Population
growth around the Bow River, along
with subsidiary and agricultural
development, has changed the
landscape. Riparian areas have been
affected. Evidence of this can be seen
through an assessment conducted
by the Alberta Riparian Habitat
Management Society in 2003, where
multiple areas along the Bow River
were examined. Results showed that
despite many riparian areas receiving
a healthy rating, 48% of riparian areas
assessed were considered healthy but
with problems.
On our first stop of the tour, we
observed a stormwater collection
pond located in Rockyview County.
These collection ponds, constructed
by the City of Calgary, have a specific
function. The grit separators work to
remove gravel and other sediments
and reduce the amount of phosphorus
from entering the river system.
Next, we headed over to Cross Iron
Mills shopping mall, located along
Highway 2. With the development
around this transportation
corridor, increased traffic and the
channelization of Nose Creek, riparian
areas have been significantly affected.
Currently, steps are being taken
to ensure areas of environmental
significance are being considered in
municipal and other development
Implementation of setbacks along Nose Creek.
Photo: Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development
Continued on page 4
Page 4
Page 4
Continued from page 3
plans. For example, Cross Iron Mills
Mall agreed to work with the Nose
Creek Watershed Partnership by
constructing stormwater collection
ponds.
After touring around the mall, we
pulled into a side road to observe
what subdivision planners have
done to help protect riparian areas.
Nose Creek in this particular area is
still in a healthy pristine condition,
untouched by the effects of
channelization. Houses have been
set back far enough from grasslands
and invasive weeds are also being
managed through regular lawn
maintenance.
The channelization of Nose Creek
that can be seen along Highway 2,
located near a carefully planned
subdivision with storm water
collection ponds, provides a striking
contrast between past and present
development practices. The building
of storm watercollection ponds and
the use of setbacks show what’s being
done to help maintain and improve
these riparian areas. My tour with Tim
gave me a new perspective on the
challenges we face as development in
this watershed continues. As seen in
the Nose Creek sub-basin, cooperation
and commitment have made a
difference and the environment is no
longer being seen as a mere hurdle to
be overcome by developers.
Sierra Matis is a second year student
at Carleton University in Ottawa with a
background in policy, political science and
international studies. She joined the ESRD
team during the summer of 2014 through
the Government of Alberta’s summer student
program. If you would like more information
on this program, please check the website
out at https://www.jobs.alberta.ca/students/
student_opps.html.
The Ramsar Convention and
World Wetlands Day 2015
T
he Convention on Wetlands of
International Importance, called
the Ramsar Convention, is the
intergovernmental treaty that provides
the framework for the conservation
and wise use of wetlands and their
resources.
Ramsar is the oldest of the
modern global intergovernmental
environmental agreements. The
Convention was adopted in the Iranian
city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into
force in 1975. Since then, almost 90%
of United Nations member states, from
all the world’s geographic regions,
have acceded to become “Contracting
Parties.”
Canada became a member of
Ramsar in 1981 and has 37 Ramsar
sites. In Alberta, Ramsar sites include
Hay-Zama Lakes Wildland Park,
Beaverhill Lake Heritage Rangeland,
Peace-Athabasca Delta (Wood
Buffalo National Park) and Whooping
Crane Summer Range (Wood Buffalo
National Park).
Each year, on February 2nd, World
Wetlands Day is held. This day
marks the date of the adoption
of the Convention in 1971. Since
1997, the Ramsar Secretariat has
provided materials to help raise public
awareness about the importance and
value of wetlands. To access materials
for World Wetlands Day 2015, visit
http://www.worldwetlandsday.org/en/
documents. To learn more about the
Ramsar Convention, visit:
http://www.ramsar.org/about-theramsar-convention.
Stormwater collection pond in the Nose Creek sub-basin
Photo: Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development
Page 5
The Pace of Change
Claudette Lacombe
Umbel Communications
In September I took
Aquality Environmental’s
Wetland Course, which
was two days in Calgary
and one field day at the
Glenbow Ranch Provincial
Park. It gave me the
perfect opportunity to go
catch up with change in
the industry...
What drew me to the course was
the opportunity to find out from an
expert what the heck happened to
the wetland policy I thought was
imminent in Alberta ages ago. I’m
not typically an impatient woman,
but I started to think I made it up in
my head.
It turns out no, it’s just that the pace
of environmental protection policy
change in our world equals the rate
of glacier growth/retreat (depends on
which side of the fence you lean on).
There is a wetland policy coming…
coming…
I struggle with this pace of change
particularly after travelling to far
away places where population and
history have taken their toll and
wilderness no longer exists except
in very small patches. Places where
elephants are sacred but extirpated
and now only live in sanctuaries and
zoos.
While in Southeast Asia, I travelled
across countryside for hours where
View of the Bow Valley. Photo: C. Lacombe
farmland abuts farmland that abuts
cities of 10 million. I found myself
longing for the unspoiled forests
of Canada and wishing I could step
into the Bow River in that hot, humid
climate. The rivers I did see were not
something you’d want touching your
skin.
These travels make me painfully
aware that it is possible to push
wilderness completely out of our lives
and off our landscapes. That worries
me greatly and makes me anxious that
we change so slowly on these issues.
How slowly? When I looked around
the room at the wetland course
participants, two things struck me.
First, I very much felt like grandma
auditing a class at university. Second,
the women outnumbered the men in
the room.
Why did male/female ratio strike me?
Because it represents a major change
in the environment.
I started working with non-profit
water management organizations in
1994. At conferences and meetings, I
looked around the room for another
woman. Irrigation conferences in
Lethbridge had one working woman
that attended. She was a real pioneer
who started out as a receptionist and
stuck with it until she just about ran an
irrigation district. For a long time, we
sat among a sea of men. To this day
when my old cronies and I gather over
lunch or coffee, we talk about how
happy we are that women joined the
industry crowds as active members
rather than wives at the banquet.
Continued on page 6
Page 6
“It’s one thing to talk about watershed protection ... it’s another truth
entirely to get out and see the change on the landscape.”
Continued from page 5
Field day instructor teams: Clare & Kathy Tannas; Jay& Daynika White.
Photo: C. Lacombe
So it struck me that, while the course
participants were not necessarily
representative of the entire industry,
women have become a voice at the
table. So what, you say? I’m a believer
in balance. What I saw in that room
was proof of balance coming to
environmental professions.
I know some incredible women who
have brought unique perspectives
to water management debates for
decades now, but I would hazard that
every one over 50 is a pioneer. What
I saw that day was the next wave of
women breaking into every aspect of
environmental management.
I talked about this with a few
women in the course. I am an actual
grandmother now and to hear young,
well-educated women say they feel
equal in the workplace encourages
me very much. That day, two couples
working as equals led our learning in
the field. Somehow, that feels like a
change that didn’t take so long after
all.
It was a perfect day to be at Glenbow
Ranch Provincial Park. If you haven’t
visited this park off Hwy 1A, I highly
recommend you do. Particularly if, like
me, your job has you working behind
a desk.
It’s one thing to talk about
watershed protection, riparian health,
wetland conservation and healthy
aquatic ecosystems in the offices and
boardrooms around our province; it’s
another truth entirely to get out and
see the change on the landscape.
When did northwest Calgary extend
itself that extra chunk? How long has
Cochrane taken up that much of the
river valley? It never ceases to amaze
me how small incremental change
suddenly coalesces in the mind’s eye
one day. This landscape change feels
like it’s moving faster than the policies
that protect our natural
resources.
I believe the Americas
have some of the last,
large natural areas
in the world. I know
that without doubt.
The infamous “They”
apparently say that you
protect what you love.
I’ve come to appreciate
that we protect what we
know needs protection.
Taking part in the
field day allowed me
to watch a bunch of
people who still have
decades ahead of them
in their careers get
all excited identifying
plants in the field.
We walked into an
ephemeral wetland dried and dormant
for the year and found green things
still living in the moist soils.
The change in plants defined the
circle that fills with water each spring
and it’s fascinating to walk through a
wetland without getting wet. Unlike
the next wetland where the ducks
watched us warily and brave students
ventured into the mucky water at the
edge to explore permanent wetland
plants.
The point for this desk jockey was
to experience change on a visceral
level. To see that no matter what the
frustrations may be on the seemingly
long road to action, the landscape
is out there counting on us to bring
all our voices to the table. The way
forward needs our knowledge and
conviction that we love our landscape.
Through the coming changes, we will
keep calling for its protection even if it
takes our entire career.
Page 7
LIVING IN THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
February 6th, 2015
The Land Supports Us All
Presented by the MD of Bighorn, the Bow River Basin Council and Partners
Cochrane RancheHouse
5:00 - 9:00 pm (doors open at 4:00)
Tickets: $35 (includes dinner; cash bar)
The Bow River Basin
Council is pleased to
support its partnership
with the MD of Bighorn and
co-sponsor this important
and timely event.
Enjoy an evening of lively
discussion and dinner!
Save the date and get
your tickets now...
4:00
Doors Open
5:00
The Flood, Land Uses and Landscapes of the Upper Bow River Basin: Causes, Consequences and Risk Mitigation
Presenter: Dr. Brad Stelfox, Adjunct Professor
(U of A and U of C)
The recently completed Phase 3 of the Upper Bow River Basin Cumulative Effects Study provides a unique glimpse into the history and future of the landuses that define this basin. The 2013 flood was a blunt reminder of both the magnitude and frequency of natural events. Incorporating the best available data and knowledge of future land use trajectories, Brad will explain how the difficult conversation of land use has just begun.
6:00
Special Presentation by the BRBC
6:30 Dinner and Cash Bar
7:30 Biology and Conservation of Alberta Bats
Presenter: Cory Olson, Wildlife Ecologist (Tannas Conservaton Services) and Grassland Ecologist (Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation)
As the second most diverse group of mammal, bats are a critical component of Alberta’s biodiversity. The benefits to humans alone are estimated at several billion dollars’ worth of ecological services. In this talk, Cory will provide an overview of the amazing diversity of bats found in the province and throughout the world, and discuss why bats are a critical component of the ecosystem and economy.
4:00 - 7:30 Visit the Trade Show in the Hall of Vision
For more details visit: http://www.mdbighorn.ca
Phone: (403) 233 - 7678 or (403) 673 - 3611
December 10th 9:30 - 15:30
BRBC Quarterly Educational
and Networking Forum
Page 8
Heritage Inn
1104 11th Ave SE, High River
Contact Information
2015 Celebrations
Presentations
Mark Bennett
Executive Director
(403) 268-4596
[email protected]
As you say goodbye to 2014,
pencil these 2015 events into
your calendar:
February 2: World Wetlands Day
March 22: World Water Day
April 22: Earth Day
June 5: World Environment Day
August 9: International Day of the
World’s Indigenous People
September 27: World Rivers Day
Sandi Riemersma
Nose Creek Partnership
Mike Murray
Program Manager
(403) 268-4597
[email protected]
Marina Krainer
Ghost Watershed Alliance Society
Kirk Davis
Foothills Land Trust
Medini Prasai
Fund Development & Member Services
(403) 268-6447
[email protected]
Katie Pearson
Friends of Fish Creek
Megan Van Ham,
WaterSMART
Andrea Czarnecki
Publications Editor
[email protected]
... and more!
For details and to register, visit:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/brbc-decemberforum-tickets-14173716969
Mailing Address:
Bow River Basin Council
Manchester Building M
Mail Code #414
P.O. Box 2100 Station M
Calgary, Alberta
T2P 2M5
The opinions expressed in the articles in this newsletter are those
of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BRBC.
... the next BRBC newsletter will be released in
March
Kananaskis Country
Photo: A. Czarnecki
If you would like to submit an article, please contact
Andrea Czarnecki at [email protected]