What is the current level of pollution in the Ottawa River? Where is it coming from?
The City of Ottawa’s Baseline Water Quality Monitoring Program provides more than 10 years of data regarding Ottawa’s surface waters, tracking water quality in six rivers and 29 creeks most of which are tributaries to the Ottawa River. Data collected show that poor water quality can be found in both urban and rural streams. Water quality tends to degrade as tributaries become smaller and are less able to tolerate pollution. Generally, water quality in the Ottawa’s major rivers is good to excellent. This is good news for residents in general and for swimmers, boaters and anglers in particular. During wet weather, combined sewer overflows contribute the largest loadings of bacteria to the river from these sources; stormwater is the largest source of other contaminants, including metals.
