Considerations for Network Design for Water Quality and Quantity Surveys in Canada

Abstract

Abstract A network of water quantity and/or quality stations is a composite of many different management information requirements. Conventionally, the objective of such stations has been to describe and quantify one or more of discharge, sediment flux, or water chemistry. This perspective is site-specific and descriptive. While quantity and quality surveying are usually separated, comprehensive water resource management is a composite activity involving the interrelationships amongst discharge, chemistry, biology, land use, etc.. The static and site-specific objectives of contemporary network stations fulfil limited management information requirements. Future network design should include a specific focus on functional behaviour of the watershed and its aquatic ecosystem. Behavioural data serve two contemporary objectives. One pertains to aquatic ecosystem management and/or protection. The second pertains to assessment of anthropogenic interventions within watersheds. The network requirements to meet these new information demands are examined in the context of conceptual, methodological and normative developments within the field of aquatic science and environmental assessment.