Municipal Drinking Water Treatment & Analysis
Source Water Quality - Taste and
Odours in Drinking Water
The
water intake for the Cornwall Water Purification plant (CWPP) is
located on Lake St. Lawrence above the R.H. Saunders Power
Generating Station. For the past two years, the River Institute
has partnered with the City of Cornwall on an investigation of
drinking water quality in Lake St. Lawrence. After the Walkerton
Inquiry, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment initiated a
proactive approach to protect our drinking water from pathogens
and harmful chemicals. Under the leadership of Dr. Jeff Ridal,
research on source water quality is ongoing to address the
concerns and needs of the Cornwall Water Purification plant.
Research has focused on identifying sources
of tastes and odours in drinking water, and assessing the
sources of bacteria in Lake St. Lawrence. Key parameters such
as turbidity, pH, total coliforms, E. coli, total
phosphorus, nitrates, nitrites, and total kheldajhl nitrogen
have been assessed in and around the water intake area and
related to environmental changes such as weather patterns, water
levels, and flow. Results show that the water in Lake St.
Lawrence is generally of a very high quality, with low turbidity
and moderate alkalinity, hardness, and nutrient levels. Nearby
sources such as large waterfowl colonies have shown localized
impacts on water quality, however, and are being monitored in
the ongoing operations of the water plant.
Watershed Environmental Resources Assessment Project (WERAP)
– Raisin River
The objective of the WERAP project is to
characterize the variables that affect the interplay of nature
and the environment in a typical agricultural river basin. This
multi-disciplinary project was spearheaded by the University of
Ottawa and is funded by the Canadian Water Network, an NSERC
Centre of Excellence. The Raisin River was chosen for this
study to model other river basins in Canada.
Dr. Jeff Ridal from the St. Lawrence River
Institute leads a team with research partners Dr. David Lean
(University of Ottawa) and John St. Marseille (Thompson
Rosemount Group) on the component of the project that is
studying nutrient loads and biochemical oxygen demand in the
Raisin River. Measurements of suspended solids, seasonal
nutrients, oxygen, conductivity, flow rates, and soluble
biochemical oxygen demand are being used to determine the
relationship between nutrients, flow, wastewater inputs, and
mercury fluxes in the river.
Investigations of silting in the Raisin
River are also underway to determine whether silting patterns
are related to physical events like rainstorms and severe
weather, and whether silting affects the spawning patterns of
local fish.
