Water Quality of Seven Persons Creek

Water quality of Seven Persons Creek at two riparian restoration sites was assessed to provide baseline information, identify water quality issues, and for educational purposes. At the Saamis Archaeological Site (SAS), City of Medicine Hat, there were two water sampling locations, upstream and downstream, 1.25 km apart. A third location was adjacent to a private agricultural land 61 km upstream of the two SAS locations. The SAS is a recreational trail park and was used as an off-leash dog park at the time of the study. Upstream of the SAS are two riparian golf courses, and within SAS are two draws utilized for stormwater conveyance into the creek. Land use in the watershed is predominantly agriculture. Water samples were collected from the two SAS locations on 4 Apr, 20 Jun, and 8 Aug 2018, and field measurements were also taken on 4 Apr. The Private land location was sampled on 29 May, 16 Jul and 13 Aug 2018. Samples were sent to a laboratory for analysis. Results were compared with provincial guidelines for surface waters or literature. For all locations, key water quality issues in creek were bacteria and nutrients (nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)). Except for bacteria and pH, highest values of water quality variables occurred at the start of the snowmelt in Apr. At the SAS, there were differences in water quality between locations depending on the season and a number of variables. In terms of bacteria, the downstream location had better water quality than the upstream location throughout the season. The downstream location also had lower values for nitrate, total nitrogen, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, total phosphorus and total dissolved phosphorus at the start of the snowmelt. In contrast, based on total dissolved and suspended solids, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, chloride and oxidation-reduction potential, the upstream location was of better quality at the start of the snowmelt. By late summer, total N and total Kjeldahl N were lower at the upstream location.