Wetland Drainage Effects on Prairie Water Quality : Final Report
Date
2011
Authors
Westbrook, Cherie
Brunet, Nathalie
Philllips, Iain
Davies, John-Mark
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Centre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
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Technical Report
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Abstract
This report describes factors influencing the spatial variation in wetland water quality and
how drainage of wetlands affects downstream receiving waters in terms of their water quality
and biotic health. The specific objectives of this work were to: 1) characterize the spatial and
temporal variation in water quality of prairie potholes after snowmelt; 2) quantify solute export
along a newly constructed wetland drainage ditch; 3) characterize solute export from drained
pothole wetlands; 4) determine the extent to which stream water quality is influenced by wetland drainage; 5) contribute to the understanding of how wetland drainage affects ecosystem health. The research was conducted at the Smith Creek watershed, southeastern Saskatchewan, where there has been controversy over recent renewed efforts to drain wetlands to increase agricultural production.
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Keywords
Wetland drainage, Water quality, Ecosystems, Prairie pothole region, Snowmelt, Solute export, Smith Creek, Saskatchewan
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Part Of
Centre for Hydrology Report #9