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Lower Athabasca Region status of management response for surface water quality management framework, as of December 2023

Description

Surface Water Quality Management Frameworks establish an approach for monitoring and managing long-term cumulative effects of human activities on water quality in the mainstem rivers. The Surface... More ≫

Description

Surface Water Quality Management Frameworks establish an approach for monitoring and managing long-term cumulative effects of human activities on water quality in the mainstem rivers. The Surface Water Quality Management Framework for the Lower Athabasca River has been in place since 2012. Following an annual assessment of water quality conditions, a Management Response process is initiated where there has been a significant change in recent water quality conditions relative to historical conditions. This report provides the status of the Government of Alberta’s management response to crossings of water quality triggers in the Lower Athabasca Region since the last Management Response report, published in 2022.

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Status of surface water quality, Lower Athabasca Region, Alberta

Description

This report was prepared to fulfill reporting requirements mandated by the Lower Athabasca Region Surface Water Quality Management Framework for the Lower Athabasca River, which supports the Lower... More ≫

Description

This report was prepared to fulfill reporting requirements mandated by the Lower Athabasca Region Surface Water Quality Management Framework for the Lower Athabasca River, which supports the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan. Each annual report communicates the status of surface water quality at the Athabasca River at Old Fort monitoring site for the calendar year indicated.

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Status of surface water quantity, Lower Athabasca Region, Alberta

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This report presents a summary of annual streamflow on the Lower Athabasca River and water use by the mineable oil sands sector and other licensed users, relative to weekly management limits, and... More ≫

Description

This report presents a summary of annual streamflow on the Lower Athabasca River and water use by the mineable oil sands sector and other licensed users, relative to weekly management limits, and provides analyses of six of the seven adaptive management triggers. This evaluation fulfills commitments for public reporting outlined in the Lower Athabasca Region Surface Water Quantity Management Framework.

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Lower Athabasca Region status of management response for air quality management framework, as of December 2023

Description

Under the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan, a management response is initiated when a trigger or limit as identified in the Lower Athabasca Region Air Quality Management Framework has been crossed or... More ≫

Description

Under the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan, a management response is initiated when a trigger or limit as identified in the Lower Athabasca Region Air Quality Management Framework has been crossed or exceeded. This report provides the status of the Government of Alberta’s management response to crossings of air quality triggers as of December 2023. It fulfills commitments made to Albertans in the Lower Athabasca Region Air Quality Management Framework for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Sulphur Dioxide (SO2).

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Operational policy : lower Athabasca River weekly flows

Description

This operational policy provides additional information on the process for the determination, communication, and application of weekly flows that is used in the implementation of the Lower... More ≫

Description

This operational policy provides additional information on the process for the determination, communication, and application of weekly flows that is used in the implementation of the Lower Athabasca Region Surface Water Quantity Management Framework for the Lower Athabasca River weekly management triggers and water withdrawal limits.

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Status of air quality, Lower Athabasca Region, Alberta

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In this report, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide concentrations measured at continuous air monitoring stations in the Lower Athabasca Region are assessed against the ambient air quality... More ≫

Description

In this report, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide concentrations measured at continuous air monitoring stations in the Lower Athabasca Region are assessed against the ambient air quality thresholds set by the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan. The report is part of the Government of Alberta's commitments made under the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan to annual and ongoing monitoring, evaluation and reporting.

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Assessments of groundwater influence on selected river systems in the oil sands region of Alberta

Description

Reports on two studies developed to address science needs and gaps related to groundwater-surface water interactions on tributaries of the Lower Athabasca River and proximate to tailings ponds.... More ≫

Description

Reports on two studies developed to address science needs and gaps related to groundwater-surface water interactions on tributaries of the Lower Athabasca River and proximate to tailings ponds. The studies address to sub-themes of the groundwater theme identified in the Joint Canada-Alberta Oil Sands Monitoring program regarding water quality of the Lower Athabasca River, namely: What is the relative importance and contribution of groundwater quality and quantity to surface waters? and: Is there groundwater seepage from tailings ponds and/or other oil sands industrial operations entering the surface water system?

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Surface water quality of the Athabasca, Peace and Slave rivers and riverine waterbodies within the Peace-Athabasca delta

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This study investigates key issues identified in the Joint Canada-Alberta Oil Sands Monitoring program regarding water quality of the Lower Athabasca River mainstem and the downstream... More ≫

Description

This study investigates key issues identified in the Joint Canada-Alberta Oil Sands Monitoring program regarding water quality of the Lower Athabasca River mainstem and the downstream Peace-Athabasca delta, specifically: the current state of water quality; the distribution of contaminants in surface water; and whether substances added to the rivers by natural and man-made discharges are likely to cause deterioration of water quality.

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Assessing ecosystem health in benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages of the Athabasca River main stem, tributaries and Peace-Athabasca delta

Description

Results from the Joint Oil Sands Monitoring plan presented here address the need to develop a comprehensive and robust invertebrate biomonitoring program for oil sands development in the lower... More ≫

Description

Results from the Joint Oil Sands Monitoring plan presented here address the need to develop a comprehensive and robust invertebrate biomonitoring program for oil sands development in the lower Athabasca River and area. Benthic macroinvertebrate biomonitoring was conducted along the main stem of the lower Athabasca River, its primary tributaries and in the Peace-Athabasca delta to assess spatial and temporal change in ecological condition within these aquatic habitats. The study focused on macroinvertebrates because they are relatively sedentary, can be sensitive to multiple stressors, are critical components of fish habitat, and are the most common group used for aquatic bioassessments globally.

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Regional hydro-climatic and sediment modelling

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Reports on the development of an integrated modelling framework established and implemented from April 2012 to March 2015, to provide a comprehensive understanding of hydrology, hydraulics,... More ≫

Description

Reports on the development of an integrated modelling framework established and implemented from April 2012 to March 2015, to provide a comprehensive understanding of hydrology, hydraulics, sediments, and contaminants within the Athabasca River and to inform current and future monitoring efforts. The broad objective of this part of the Joint Oil Sands Monitoring plan was to provide critical knowledge on and improved predictive modelling capability for water availability and sediment/contaminant transport in the lower Athabasca River.

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