Water quality monitoring

The Yukon Water Data Catalogue provides information on water quality sampling locations, periods of record and contact information for a variety of water networks.

View Water Data Catalogue

Other direct sources of water quality data include:

Long-term monitoring

Data on the water quality of several major Yukon rivers is available through the Pacific-Yukon network and the Government of Canada Open Data Portal.

Water licence data

You can access monthly and annual reports required under water licences through the Yukon Water Board’s WATERLINE. Long-term records of water licence data may also be available. Email water.resources@gov.yk.ca to inquire.

Baseline and research studies

Learn more about our recent water quality monitoring projects in Fishing Branch River.

Learn more about research on water in Yukon in our project information sheets:

Water quality

• Water quality across Yukon
• Alsek River
• Klondike River
• Liard River
• Porcupine River
• South McQuesten River

Uranium and arsenic

• Uranium and arsenic in the baseline environment, Dawson Range, Yukon: February 2021 update
• Uranium and arsenic in the natural environment

Hydrology

• What's up with Yukon's rivers: 2019 review

Groundwater

• Yukon Observation Well Network
• Yukon water well registry
• Yukon's groundwater program

Baseline assessments

• Eagle Plains water baseline assessment ‒ summary
• Kotaneelee baseline water assessment ‒ summary

Transboundary waters

• Incorporating traditional knowledge into transboundary water management
• Liard River Basin transboundary aquifer assessment ‒summary
• Transboundary water management agreements

A variety of guidelines and regulatory-imposed standards are available to assess water quality data for protection of aquatic life or suitability of water to drink . Those commonly applied in Yukon include:

• Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines used to assess natural receiving environments.
• BC Water Quality Guidelines used to assess natural receiving environments.
• Yukon Contaminated Sites Regulation used to assess risks posed to human and environmental health in groundwater.
• Metal Mining Effluent Regulations: federally regulated standards for water released from a mine.
• Federal Environmental Quality Guidelines: referencing health of aquatic life.
• Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality: Health Canada guidelines to define safe drinking water.
• Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality: public health and safety of recreational waters.
• Guidelines for developing adaptive management plans in Yukon: Water-related components of quartz mining projects
• Preferred practices for works affecting Yukon waters used to help developers comply with environmental regulations and avoid or mitigate the negative environmental impacts of development activities.
• Yukon Guide for Developing Water Quality Objectives and Effluent Quality Standards fact sheet

Proper water quality sampling techniques are required to: avoid sample contamination, maintain sample integrity through proper preserving and to sample from appropriate locations.

Guides on water quality sampling include:

• Water Sampling 101: a basic guide to the fundamentals of water quality sampling.
• Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Protocols Manual: a nationally recognized guide for water quality sampling.
• American Society for Testing and Materials Standard Guide: a widely adopted protocol for sampling of groundwater wells.
• For sampling of groundwater wells specific to the contaminated sites regulations:
  • Protocol no. 7: Groundwater monitoring well installation, sampling, and decommissioning; and
  • Technical guidance for contaminated sites: Groundwater investigation and characterization.