Learn about freshwater quality

Data on water quality and quantity throughout the Yukon is available through the Water Data Explorer. The Water Data Explorer allows you to;

• view a map of monitoring locations for water quality and other data;
• visualize these data in plots and maps;
• and download data.

View the Water Data Explorer

Other direct sources of water quality data include:

• Water licence data
  • Access monthly and annual reports required under water licences through the Yukon Water Board’s WATERLINE. Long-term records of water licence data may also be available. Email [email protected] to inquire.
• Compliance, monitoring and inspections water quality data
  • Water Quality Sample Year Table

Water quality information sheets:

• Water quality across the Yukon
• Alsek River water quality
• Klondike River water quality
• Liard River water quality
• Porcupine River water quality
• South McQuesten River water quality

Proper water quality sampling techniques are needed to:

• avoid sample contamination;
• maintain sample integrity through proper preserving; and
• sample from appropriate locations.

Water sampling guides:

• Water Sampling 101: a basic guide to the fundamentals of water quality sampling
• Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Protocols Manual: a nationally recognized guide for water quality sampling
• American Society for Testing and Materials Standard Guide: a widely adopted protocol for sampling groundwater wells

A variety of guidelines and regulatory-imposed standards are available to assess water quality data for protection of aquatic life or suitability of water to drink. Those commonly applied in the Yukon include:

• Yukon Guide for Developing Water Quality Objectives and Effluent Quality Standards for Quartz Mining Projects
• Implementation Plan for the Yukon Guide for Developing Water Quality Objectives and Effluent Quality Standards for Quartz Mining Projects
• Fact Sheet on the Yukon Guide for Developing Water Quality Objectives and Effluent Quality Standards
• Guidelines for developing adaptive management plans in Yukon: Water-related components of quartz mining projects
• Preferred practices for works affecting Yukon waters used to help developers comply with environmental regulations and avoid or mitigate the negative environmental impacts of development activities
• Yukon Contaminated Sites Regulation used to assess risks posed to human and environmental health in groundwater
• Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines used to assess natural receiving environments
• BC Water Quality Guidelines used to assess natural receiving environments.
• Metal Mining Effluent Regulations: federally regulated standards for water released from a mine
• Federal Environmental Quality Guidelines: referencing health of aquatic life.
• Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality: Health Canada guidelines to define safe drinking water
• Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality: public health and safety of recreational waters