Westbrook, CherieBrunet, NathaliePhilllips, IainDavies, John-Mark2023-10-252023-10-262011https://hdl.handle.net/10388/15182This 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.enAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 CanadaWetland drainageWater qualityEcosystemsPrairie pothole regionSnowmeltSolute exportSmith Creek, SaskatchewanTechnical Report