Protecting water, people and the environment is so important to the NWMO – it is at the core of what we do and a connection we share with Canadians and Indigenous peoples. And understanding water, its quality, its memory, and where it’s flowing is essential for us to be able to make good decisions as we do our work.
In July 2021, the NWMO partnered with Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority (SVCA) to research water resources in the South Bruce area. The information collected will help the NWMO and SVCA make future project decisions to protect water.
The program will monitor water flow and collect surface water samples in rivers, lakes and wetlands throughout the Teeswater River and the Beatty Saugeen River subwatersheds.
The water samples will be submitted to CALA-certified laboratories for analysis. They will test for:
- General water quality
- Existing local industries
- Potential contaminants
Here is what the water will be tested for:
Tier 1: Natural Radionuclides
Tritium, Carbon-14, Strontium-90, Iodine-129, Cesium-137 [and associated Cobalt-60, Ruthenium-106], gross-α, gross-β
Tier 2: Natural Radionuclides
Uranium-238, Uranium-234, Uranium-235, Potassium-40, Thorium-228, Thorium-230, Thorium-232, Radium-226
Tier 2: Artificial Radionuclides
Chlorine-36, Cobalt-60, Selenium-79, Ruthenium-106, Neptunium-237, Plutonium-238, Plutonium-239, Plutonium-240, Plutonium-241 Americium-241, Curium-244
Metals
Aluminum, Antimony, Arsenic, Barium, Beryllium, Bismuth, Boron, Cadmium, Cesium, Chromium (total, trivalent, hexavalent), Cobalt, Copper, Iron, Lead, Lithium, Mercury, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Rhodium, Ruthenium, Samarium, Selenium, Silver, Strontium, Thallium, Tin, Titanium, Uranium, Vanadium, Zinc, Zirconium
Organics
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Volatile Organic Compounds, Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds, Petroleum Hydrocarbons, Dioxins and Furans, Polychlorinated biphenyls (Total), Organochlorine pesticides
Nutrients and General Chemistry
Alkalinity, Bicarbonate, Bromide, Calcium, Carbonate, Chloride, Cyanide, Fluoride, Hydroxide, Magnesium, pH, Potassium, Sodium, Specific Conductivity, Sulphate, Sum of Ions, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Hardness, Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Turbidity, Ammonia as Nitrogen, Nitrate + Nitrite, Nitrate (NO3), Total Organic Carbon (TOC), Total Inorganic Carbon (TIC), Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC), Phosphorus, Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN), Chlorophyll-a, Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Total Coliforms, E. coli
Protecting water
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