Abstract
We assessed the hydrochemistry of 15 watersheds in the Halton Region, southern Ontario, in high resolution (n > 500 samples across n > 40 streams) to characterize water quality dynamics and governing controls on major and trace element concentrations in this rapidly urbanizing region. In 2022, major water quality parameters were generally in line with historic monitoring data yet significantly different across catchments, e.g., in specific conductance, turbidity, phosphate and chloride, and trace element concentrations. Distinct hydrochemical signatures were observed between urban and rural creeks, with urban stream sections and sites near the river mouths close to Lake Ontario having consistently higher chloride (up to 700 mg/L) and occasional enrichment in nutrients levels (up to 8 and 20 mg/L phosphate and nitrate, respectively). Particularly upper reaches exhibited hydrochemical signatures that were reflective of the catchment surface lithologies, for instance through higher dissolved Ca to Mg ratios. Unlike for chloride and phosphate, provincial water quality guidelines for trace elements and heavy metals were seldom surpassed (on < 10 occasions for copper, zinc, cadmium, and uranium). Concentrations of other trace elements (e.g., platinum group elements or rare earth elements) were expectedly low (< 0.3 µg/L) but showed spatiotemporal concentration patterns and concentration-discharge dynamics different from those of the major water quality parameters. Our results help improve the understanding of surface water conditions within Halton’s regional Natural Heritage Systems and demonstrate how enhanced environmental monitoring can deliver actionable information for watershed decision-making.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Ella Bickford (Queen’s University) for assistance with sample processing and data processing, as well as Alexandre Voinot and Donald Chipley (Queen’s University Facility for Isotope Research) for assistance with elemental analyses. Additional thanks go out to Jeff Lee, Benjamin O’Reilly, and Martin Keller from Conservation Halton for providing data and assistance with data processing and to the Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks for funding the PWQMN program which was the source of our historical data.
Funding
Financial support for this research was provided by Halton Region and Conservation Halton, Queen’s University, the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC, grant number 2021–00244), and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI, grant number 38468).
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Nathan Beckner-Stetson, Kim Funk, and Andrea Dunn collected samples; Nathan Beckner-Stetson, Madeleine Estabrooks, and Bas Vriens performed hydrochemical analyses; and Andrea Dunn, Behnam Doulatyari, Kim Barrett, and Bas Vriens coordinated the project. Nathan Beckner-Stetson wrote the initial manuscript text, and all authors contributed to data analysis and interpretation as well as editing of the manuscript.
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Highlights
• High-resolution spatiotemporal water quality monitoring in the Halton Region.
• Distinct stream hydrochemistry between urban catchments versus upper reaches.
• Water quality signatures largely follow (surficial) geology, but not trace element loads.
• Trace element mobilization highly catchment specific, source, and discharge dependent.
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Beckner-Stetson, N., Funk, K., Estabrooks, M. et al. Water quality dynamics and underlying controls in the Halton Region, Ontario. Environ Monit Assess 196, 677 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-024-12833-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-024-12833-6