Sqwa:la (Hope Slough) watershed: Water quality report for the 2023 wet season

Executive summary

Water is essential for life, and steps are needed to understand, protect and restore its health in fish habitat throughout British Columbia. The Raincoast Healthy Waters program was launched in 2023 to establish community-oriented water pollution monitoring in select BC watersheds. Two Healthy Waters sampling events take place every year in each watershed, the first in the dry season (summer), and the second being in the wet season (winter). This report highlights results from the first wet (winter) season sampling carried out with the support and participation of Pelólxw Tribe. Briefly, the Healthy Waters – CFN team determined basic water properties (temperature, conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen and turbidity) in situ at sampling sites on December 20, 2023. Water samples were collected from four water categories, including source water (3 samples), stream and river water (3 samples), road runoff (3 samples), and Fraser River water (3 samples). Samples were then pooled by water category and analysed for coliform, metals, nutrients and physical parameters, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs), bisphenols, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), sucralose and 6-PPD Quinone. Overall, the Sqwa:la (Hope Slough) watershed had relatively good water quality in the wet season, but additional sampling and analysis will provide additional insight into contamination impacts from forest fires, domestic wastewater, industrial chemicals and runoff (roads, agriculture) on the health of this valued watershed.

Sqwa:la (Hope Slough) watershed

Key findings

• This preliminary assessment of water quality in the Sqwa:la (Hope Slough) watershed reflects the first of several site visits; our understanding of water quality in these watersheds will grow with additional sampling over the coming two years (2024-26).
• We collected and analysed water in the Sqwa:la (Hope Slough) watershed during the wet season (December 20, 2023).
• Road runoff was the most contaminated water category in the wet season; it had the highest concentration of metals, nutrients, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), 6PPD-quinone and alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs).
• Source and Fraser River water were the least contaminated water categories in the wet season.
• Overall, the Sqwa:la (Hope Slough) watershed had relatively good water quality in the wet season.

Background

Raincoast’s Healthy Waters Program delivers high-resolution, community-oriented water quality analysis to watersheds across southern British Columbia. The goal of Healthy Waters is to empower communities with the understanding of the status of water quality in their watersheds, to allow for local advocacy regarding both point and nonpoint source pollution. 

The Pelólxw people hold profound relationships with the sloughs, islands and river that connects them. The inherent jurisdiction and title of the Pelólxw Tribe people, to the Hope Slough can be traced back to the time of the eternal ancestors who established the ancient connection between the peoples and their territories. 

Pelólxw Tribe are currently undertaking a major restoration project at Sqwa:la (Hope Slough), which includes increased water quality monitoring in line with Raincoast’s Healthy Waters program. 

The wider restoration project, titled Shxwlístexw te Sqwá:la Shxwelí (Care for the Life Spirit of the Hope Slough) encompasses five pillars to support the health of Sqwá:la and the surrounding communities. The five pillars are as follows: 

• Community and youth engagement,
• Improved flow through Sqwa:la,
• Riparian area restoration,
• Fish habitat restoration,
• Water quality monitoring.

A watershed based approach to sampling

We collect samples from five different categories of water in each of our partner watersheds: from source water, upstream of human impacts, down to the marine environment. 

Source water serves as an upstream reference sample, allowing us to determine which contaminants are being introduced as water traces its path down through the watershed. 

Stream and river samples allow us to investigate the quality of fish habitat directly, by collecting samples from streams, creeks, and rivers used by salmon and other fish species (either currently or historically). 

Road runoff serves as an impacted sample category of current concern, as many contaminants, including  PAHs, metals, surfactants and chemicals such as 6-PPD quinone can be washed off roadways and into fish habitat during rain events. 

We include tap water samples in our analysis as a way to bring our homes into the conversation – we borrow water from the environment in the form of municipal or well water, and generally return it to aquatic habitats in a more-degraded state in the form of storm and sewage effluent (treated or untreated).

Marine water samples provide insight into those contaminants that may degrade fish and whale habitat in the ocean, and enable an understanding of the contribution of land-based pollutants from the adjacent watershed to the marine environment.

Collectively, the lessons learned from our partnering watersheds will contribute to a greater understanding of threats to water quality across British Columbia, and ultimately what policy changes can be implemented to preserve the quality of water for the future of salmon, whales, and people.

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