Public Service Announcement

Water Quality Survey of HRM Lakes

(Wednesday, April 6, 2011) -- Fifty one lakes within the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) will be tested for water quality on Thursday, April 7th, 2011. A number of these water samples will be collected by helicopter and the others will be taken by boat. Please visit www.halifax.ca/environment/lakesandrivers for a complete list of the lakes being surveyed and the method being employed.

This water quality survey of lakes within HRM is a joint project of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC), Nova Scotia Environment, Environment Canada, Halifax Water, Transport Canada, and the Sackville Rivers Association. Laboratory analysis is being provided by Natural Resources Canada and the QE II Hospital. Vision Air is providing the helicopter and AGAT Ltd. is a corporate sponsor.

A comprehensive Water Quality survey of this magnitude was last performed in the year 2000. This is a separate program from the HRM Water Quality Monitoring Program which is typically performed 3 times per year spring, summer, fall to provide scientific data related to tracking overall water quality in the Municipality. This is also a separate program from the Supervised Beach Water Quality Testing Program. The water quality at supervised HRM beaches is conducted by the NS Department of the Environment and is done weekly during the swimming months of July and August.

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Cameron Deacoff (HRM), 476-0363
Pierre Clement (DFO) 229-8370
James Kerr (NSCC) 430-8746