Research & Monitoring

Our science-based research and monitoring programs have been developed by professors and graduate students from the University of Ottawa. The H2O Chelsea project would not have been possible were it not for the hundreds of hours that were volunteered to design our sampling protocols, data sheets and databases. Thanks to the scientific expertise provided by our University of Ottawa partners, H2O Chelsea has been able to create a credible science-monitoring program that will provide municipal decision makers with information to help them make water-friendly development decisions.

Water Questionnaire

In 2003, H2O Chelsea sent a Water Questionnaire to every household and business in the municipality. The questions related to water quantity and quality and were designed to provide information that would assist the project in developing research and monitoring activities that were relevant to the needs of the community. Questions included:

Had the homeowner experienced any ‘water shortages’ (a lack of water in the well) in recent years (and during what seasons)
Did the homeowner suspect any sources of water pollution near their property (road salts, golf course, leaking septic bed etc.)
How would the homeowner like to participate in the project (become a volunteer, have someone come to their house to test their well water quantity etc.)

The 2003 Questionnaire was completed by over 625 residents, providing thorough coverage of all of the sectors in Chelsea. Responses regarding water quantity led to the creation of our Intensive Static Program (see below for details), whereas responses regarding water quality assisted us in developing our lake and stream sampling programs for 2004. The questionnaire also played a critical role in informing residents of Chelsea about the The H2O Chelsea project, its various programs and ways to get involved.

Click here to view the Water Questionnaire

Static Level Program

The static level of a well is the height of water in your well when the pump has not been used for an extended period of time (allowing the water level in your well to reach the level of the surrounding water table). Regular measuring of the static level can indicate fluctuations in groundwater levels in the aquifers that serve your well. Therefore, tracking the water levels of the aquifers over a period of time provides information on whether the water tables in Chelsea are rising, falling or staying at the same level.

Though it will take years to acquire enough data to accurately determine the trends of our water tables, the program already provides useful information. For example, the static level of a well measured in 2004 can be compared to the static level measured when the well was first drilled.

The ultimate aim of this component of the The H2O Chelsea project is to provide municipal planners with water quantity information that will allow them to make ‘water-friendly’ development decisions in Chelsea (are certain water tables too low to accommodate more houses in a given area, should water conservation initiatives be developed for certain regions in Chelsea etc.).

The H2O Chelsea Static Level Program is made up of two components:

Intensive Static Program
Volunteer Static Program

Intensive Static Program

The results from the 2003 Water Questionnaire (see above) were utilized to pinpoint sectors in Chelsea that reported a ‘greater number of shortages’ compared to other sectors of the community. It is important to note that there was a great variation in the number of Questionnaires returned from each sector and therefore the number of ‘reported’ shortages must be viewed in light of the number of Questionnaires that were returned from that particular sector.

A static-level coordinator was employed in the summer of 2004 to monitor well-water levels in those ‘pinpointed’ areas. Over 60 households participated in this program (Intensive Static) providing excellent coverage for the study. Our aim is to continue monitoring these wells with the goal of determining the water level trends in those specific regions of Chelsea. As mentioned, it will take several years of data to confirm this trend. In the meantime, H2O Chelsea will monitor trends in the data and utilize their findings to create public education initiatives that will assist homeowners in understanding water quantity issues and provide realistic water conservation strategies.

Volunteer Static Program

A key aspect of the Static Level Program is the volunteer component. During the summer of 2004 there were over 60 volunteers sampling their own wells and/or that of a neighbour. Thanks to everyone’s commitment we collected monthly measurements of over 80 wells, spread throughout Chelsea. These numbers continue to rise as people become aware of the program.

Please contact us if you are interested in getting involved.

For more information regarding what is involved in static-level testing and forms for participants please visit our Resources for Volunteers.

Static Level Sampling Results

Please refer to our annual reports found on our Summary of Results page.

Well Water Quality Program

The Municipality has created a recognized well water testing program for its residents. For more information about testing your well water, please refer to: Well Water Testing

Lake and Stream Programs

The H2O Chelsea lake and stream programs monitor quality and quantity parameters of our local waterways. Testing is done on Beamish, Kingsmere and Meech Lakes and Meech, Chelsea, Fortune and Hayworth Creeks.

The data will help us determine the state of our lakes and streams and determine what effects that human activity (shoreline development, septic systems etc.) and natural events (beaver dams, weather variations etc.) are having on their health. The aim of these monitoring programs is to determine baseline conditions, locate and understand ‘problem’ areas and develop and carry out conservation and mitigation strategies.

Areas of potential concern include: discharge from old landfill sites, seepage from septic systems, erosion of shorelines, nutrient and pesticide runoff from golf courses and road salt contamination. Detection of these problems in the surface water will also aid in the assessment of potential groundwater pollution (that could ultimately affect well-water quality).

Results

To view our reports, please visit our Project Results page.

Lake Program Specifics

The H2O Chelsea Lake Program was developed in collaboration with Dr. Scott Findlay, Dr. Frances Pick and Dr. David Lean of the University of Ottawa. The program monitors the water quality of Beamish, Kingsmere and Meech lakes. Our four sampling teams are comprised of 14 volunteers that test each lake once a month from May until December. Last year, Kingsmere and Beamish lakes were sampled throughout the year!

Once a month, on Sunday afternoons, the teams collect water samples and record data such as cloud cover, dissolved oxygen levels, pH, air and water temperature. The water samples are returned to the Municipality on Monday morning to be transferred to various laboratories for analysis.

2004 Lake Program

Lake Name	Number of Stations	Number of Volunteers
Beamish	3	2
Kingsmere	1	2
Meech	6	8

The lake program analyzes the following parameters:

Bacteria (total and fecal coli forms, background colonies)
Nutrients (total Kjeldal nitrogen and total phosphorous)
Anions (nitrate, nitrite, sulphate, chloride) Cations (calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, silicon)
Chlorophyll a
Dissolved oxygen/water temperature at various depths and pH, total dissolvable solids, electrical conductivity at various depths
Weather conditions (wind, rain, air temperature, cloud cover etc.)

For more information regarding the specifics of our lake sampling activities please visit our Resources for Volunteers page.

Stream Program Specifics

The Stream Program was developed in collaboration with Dr. Scott Findlay, Dr. Antoine Morin and Dr. Ben Basu of the University of Ottawa. The program runs from Ma y to October. 38 stations are set up on Meech, Chelsea, Fortune, Hayworth creeks as well as small streams that flow into the Gatineau River..
Volunteers sampled their station five times during the sampling season.. On Sunday afternoons, the volunteers collect water samples to record data such as cloud cover, air and water temperature. The samples are returned to the Municipal office on Monday morning where they are transferred to various laboratories for analysis.

Core Stream Program

Stream Name	Number of Stations	Number of Volunteers
Chelsea	5	7
Fortune	1	1
Meech	5	6
Hayworth	2	1

Our Stream Program analyzed the following parameters:

Bacteria (total and fecal coli forms, background colonies)
Nutrients (total Kjeldal nitrogen and total phosphorous)
Anions (nitrates, nitrites, sulphate, chloride)
Cations (calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, silicon)
Total suspended solids
Metals (aluminum, antimony, barium, beryllium, bismuth, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, phosphorous, strontium, thallium, titanium, uranium, vanadium, zinc)
Dissolved oxygen/water temperature, pH, total dissolvable solids, electrical conductivity
Air temperature, weather conditions (wind, rain, cloud cover etc.)
Water discharge (water level) Identification and count of fish species, macro invertebrates, benthic invertebrates

For more information regarding the specifics of our stream sampling activities please visit our Resources for Volunteers page.

Want to get involved?

Do you want to join a lake sampling team, become a stream volunteer, assist with data entry or help prepare sampling kits for the teams? If so, please contact us and we can discuss how to get you involved! Training workshops are offered in the spring and provide our volunteers with thorough ‘hands on’ instruction. There are also opportunities to ‘apprentice’ with sampling teams throughout the year. We look forward to hearing from you!

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