| Description of Water Quality Parameters *(Adapted from NB DoE, 1999) | |||||
| Parameter | Description | Guideline 2/ | Comment | ||
| Aluminum (Al) | Third most abundant element in the earth's crust | Should not exceed 0.005 mg/l in waters with a pH of 6.5 or less; should not exceed 0.1 mg/l in waters with a pH of greater than 6.5 | Importance of pH to toxicity investigated only recently and significant gaps in knowledge remain | ||
| Grans Alkalinity (ALK-G) | Ability of water to neutralise an acid | 2-10 mg/l indicates moderate sensitivity to acidification | |||
| Arsenic
(As) |
53rd element in abundance in the earth's crust | 50 g/l | COLSPAN="2">Invertebrates are generally more sensitive to arsenic than adult fish. | ||
| Biochemical
Oxygen
Demand
(BOD5) |
Amount of oxygen consumed in water over five days at an incubation temperature of 20 oC | Waters with levels less then 4 mg/l are deemed relatively clean. | COLSPAN="2">Not a pollutant, but a measure of organic pollution | ||
| Calcium (Ca) | An alkaline-earth metal, along with magnesium is primarily responsible for the hardness of water | Less than 15 mg/l is common in New Brunswick surface waters | |||
| Cadmium (Cd) | Usually present in water in trace quantities, highly toxic to man and aquatic life. | 0.2 g/l in water with a hardness of 0-60 mg/l. 0.8 g/l where hardness is 61-120 mg/l | |||
| Chlorophyll a (CHLA) | Green pigment found in plants, can be used to estimate algal biomass | Concentrations in unproductive, nutrient-poor waters range up to 4 g/l, highly productive waters contain 10 to 100 g/l. | |||
| Chloride (C1) |
Major inorganic ion, in high concentrations is partial cause of salty taste in water |
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| Colour (Clra) | Colour imparted to water by natural minerals or vegetation | 100 units for recreational use | |||
| Cobalt (Co) | A heavy metal, similar chemically to nickel | Irrigation water should not exceed 0.050 mg/l | |||
| Conductivity (Cond) | Indicates waters ability to conduct an electrical current, can be used to estimate total dissolved solids | Normal range in NB fresh waters 10-50 sie/cm | |||
| Copper (Cu) | Essential for plant and animal nutrition in small amounts | 2.0 g/l in waters with a hardness of 0-120 mg/l, 3.0 g/l when hardness is 120-180 mg/l and 4.0 g/l when hardness is greater than 180 mg/l. | |||
| Chromium (Cr) | A blue-white, hard, brittle metal | 2.0 g/l to protect fish, 2.0 g/l to protect other aquatic life, including zooplankton and phytoplankton | Generally present at low concentrations in Canadian surface waters | ||
| Fluoride (F) | 17th most abundant element in the earth's crust, a member of the halide family | Drinking water guideline is 1.5mg/l | |||
| Iron (Fe) | Fourth most abundant element in earth's crust | Should not exceed 0.3 mg/l | |||
|
Hardness (Hard) |
Principally determined by the sum of calcium and magnesium |
0-30 mg/l considered to be very soft, 31-60 mg/l soft, 61-120 mg/l moderately soft, 121-180 mg/l hard, above 180 mg/l very hard | |||
| Mercury (Hg) | Trace metal in the earth's crust, the only metal that occurs in the liquid state at ordinary temperatures | 0.1 g/l | |||
| Potassium (K) | Alkali metal, essential for plant and animal nutrition | Seldom 20 mg/l in natural surface waters, generally less than 10 mg/l | |||
| Magnesium (Mg) | An alkaline-earth metal, one of the two main components of hardness | Less than 50 mg/l recommended for drinking water | |||
| Manganese (Mn) | Often found in association with iron | Tolerance values for freshwater aquatic life are reported to range from 1.5 to 1000 mg/l | |||
| Sodium (Na) | Major inorganic ion, in high concentrations and in combination with chloride can cause salty taste in water | 20 mg/l in drinking water of individuals on sodium restricted diets | |||
| Total ammonia (NH3T) | Reduced inorganic form of nitrogen | Varies with temperature and pH; at pH of 6.75 and temperature of 15oC guideline is 2.2 mg/l | |||
| Total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) | Sum of both ammonia and organic nitrogen | 0.1 to 0.5 mg/l is normal environmental range | |||
| Nitrate & nitrite (NOx) | Inorganic form of nitrogen, major nutrient for aquatic vegetation | COLSPAN="2">Less than 10 mg/l in drinking water | COLSPAN="2">Greater than 5 mg/l may reflect unsanitary conditions | ||
| Nickel (Ni) | Silver-grey metal, ductile malleable, tough | 25 g/l at hardness 0-60 mg/l 65 g/l at hardness 60-120 mg/l 110 g/l at hardness 120-180 mg/l 150 g/l at hardness > 180 mg/l |
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| Total nitrogen | Sum of NOx and TKN equals total nitrogen in water | ||||
| Lead (Pb) | Ubiquitous in the natural environment | Should not exceed 1.0 g/l in waters with a hardness of 0-60 mg/l |
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| pH (pH) | Index of hydrogen ion concentration, 7 indicates neutral, less than 7 acidic, greater than 7 alkaline | 6.5 - 9.0 | |||
| Antimony (Sb) | Very brittle, tin-white metal | Drinking water guideline is 0.2 g/l | |||
| Sulfate (SO4) | Oxidized form of sulfur | Less than 150 mg/l for drinking water | |||
| Suspended solids (SS) | A measure of material suspended in the water column | Should not exceed 10 mg/l | |||
| Total inorganic Carbon (TIC) | Primarily composed of carbonates, bicarbonates and carbonic acid | ||||
| Total organic carbon (TOC) | Carbon is required for biological processes, decomposition of carbon compounds removes oxygen from water | 15 mg/l (represents the upper end of values detected in natural surface waters in NB) | Greater than 15 mg/l may reflect unsanitary conditions, sum of TIC and TOC equals total carbon in the water. | ||
| Total phosphours (TP) | Essential plant nutrient, may stimulate algal growth | 0.02 mg/l average for ice-free period in lakes to avoid nuisance concentrations of algae (0.01 mg/l provides a high level of protection) less than 0.03 mg/l for rivers and streams 3/ | Index of maximum concentrations is: 0.10 mg/l in flowing water, 0.05 mg/l for water flowing into lakes and reservoirs and 0.025 mg/l in lakes and reservoirs | ||
| Turbidity (Turb) | Optical measure of suspended particles in water | For recreational use should not increase by more than 5.0 NTU (nephelometric turbidity units) over natural turbidity when turbidity is low (<50 NTU) | For purposes of report, noted any results exceeding 10.0 NTU as increases could not be determined. | ||
| Zinc (Zn) | Essential for plants and animals, relatively non-toxic to man but toxic to aquatic organisms | Should not exceed 30.0 g/l | |||
| Dissolved oxygen (DO) | Necessary for respiration in aerobic organisms | Should be no less than 5.0 mg/l for protection of fish | |||
| Faecal coliform bacteria (FC) | A group of bacteria found in the intestines of humans and warm blooded animals and present in their faeces | For body contact recreation, geometric mean of a least 5 samples taken over a 30 day period should be less than 200/ 100 ml | For report, FC bacteria were used as water quality indicators and results exceeding 200/100 ml were noted instead of using geometric mean. | ||
| Escherichia coli (E.coli) | A bacterium formed in the intestines of humans and warm blooded animals and present in their faeces | For body contact recreation, geometric mean of a least 5 samples taken over a 30 day period should be less than 200 per 100 ml | For report, E.coli were used as water quality indicators and results exceeding 200/100 ml were noted instead of using geometric area | ||
| Temperature (Temp) | Affects physical, biological, and chemical processes in the aquatic environment | The natural thermal regime should not be altered so as to impair the quality of the natural environment. The diversity, distribution and abundance of plant and animal life should not be significantly changed. 3/ | Optimum temperatures for *** brook trout are between 15 and 20 oC 4/ | ||
1/ Guidelines based primarily on CCREM (1987) and McNeely, Neimanis and Dwyer (1979)
2/ Unless indicated otherwise, guideline is the level established for protection of aquatic life.
3/ Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy (1994)
4/ International Technical Advisory Subcommittee on Water Quality in the Saint John River (1980)