Where We Monitor
Under the Master Agreement on Apportionment, the federal government is responsible to conduct and pay the costs of water quantity and quality monitoring at the PPWB sites.
To fulfill federal responsibilities, Environment and Climate Change Canada conducts the monitoring that is required under the Master Agreement on Apportionment on eastward flowing rivers.
To assess whether apportionment water quantity requirements have been met by provincial authorities, the PPWB Secretariat computes apportionable flows at 12 PPWB sites. Apportionment computations currently use data from 85 hydrometric stations that are operated by different agencies. These hydrometric stations are located in 5 major river basins, representing the major eastward-flowing watersheds that supply water to much of the Prairie provinces. Apportionment computations also rely on meteorological and water use data; 19 meteorological stations that are operated by Environment and Climate Change Canada, and other meteorological and water use data from various organizations. The information collected at these stations is used to calculate apportionable flows.
Water quality is monitored by Environment and Climate Change Canada in 12 PPWB sites to ensure that PPWB water quality objectives are met. The PPWB Secretariat compares water quality data to the PPWB objectives in the 12 PPWB sites that have water quality objectives.
Environment and Climate Change Canada has water level, water quality and climate data available to the public:
ECCC Historical and Real-Time Hydrometric Data at: Water Level and Flow - Environment Canada (ec.gc.ca)
ECCC Freshwater Quality Monitoring Data at: Freshwater quality monitoring: online data - Canada.ca
ECCC Historical Climate Data at: Historical Climate Data - Climate - Environment and Climate Change Canada (weather.gc.ca)
The Prairie Provinces Water Board is a vital institution of governance in the prairies that facilitates sound and collaborative management of shared water resources.