In Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), drinking water quality monitoring is conducted by the provincial government on all public water supply systems and results are communicated to communities on a quarterly basis. This paper describes the application of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Water Quality Index (CCME WQI) as a communications tool for reporting the drinking water quality results. The CCME WQI simplifies the communication of results while integrating local expert opinion, without challenging the integrity of the data. The NL Department of Environment and Conservation successfully tested the use of the CCME WQI on selected drinking water quality data sets, and developed a phased approach for its implementation as a practical means of presenting available physical, chemical, organic and microbiological results to communities. The CCME WQI index categorization schema was modified by adding a new ranking category to incorporate local expert opinion. This paper describes the development of the phased approach for calculating water quality indices, the testing methodology used, the rationale for modifying the existing CCME WQI index categorization schema, and the implementation of an automated CCME WQI calculator in the provincial drinking water quality database. The paper also discusses the challenges encountered in using the CCME WQI especially with respect to incorporation of contaminants, microbiological and trihalomethanes data. The benefits and downfalls of this application are also discussed.

Since its development in 2001, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) Water Quality Index (WQI) has established itself as a valuable tool for communicating ambient water quality data. Due to the high natural background levels of particular parameters in water bodies throughout the country it is often necessary to use Site-Specific Water Quality Guidelines (SS-WQGs) as opposed to generic national Water Quality Guidelines (WQGs) or provincial Water Quality Objectives (WQOs) in the CCME WQI model to obtain truly representative rankings. SS-WQGs have only been developed for a limited number of ambient water quality sites and this has been a major hurdle to the widespread use and acceptance of the CCME WQI. This paper presents the adaptation and implementation of an existing CCME-approved SS-WQGs derivation method called the background concentration (BC) procedure into a Site-Specific Water Quality Index (SS-WQI) calculator and tool. It discusses the application of the SS-WQI calculator to compute water quality indices for five pristine ambient water quality sites in Newfoundland and Labrador. The effects of using five different BC-based SS-WQGs (mean; median; mean ± one standard deviation; mean ± two standard deviations; 90th and 10th percentile) are examined. The paper also discusses the challenges and benefits of using this methodology and provides recommendations for further testing.

The assessment of the impacts of forestry activities on water quality is a critical component of forestry management and planning, especially when watersheds are being used for different water uses by different stakeholders. Traditional methodologies for assessing these impacts, while accurate, often do not take into account the intended use of water. Water quality data are inherently technical and are not conducive to communication to all stakeholders-especially the public. There is a need for a communications-based assessment tool that assesses the impact of forestry activities on water quality from the perspective of different water uses. This paper describes the development and application of such a tool, the Forestry Water Quality Index (FWQI). The FWQI has been developed specifically to capture, evaluate and communicate the impact of forestry activities on water quality to multiple stakeholders. Initially based on the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment's Water Quality Index, the FWQI was specifically adapted for applications in forestry management. Details of this adaptation and its methodology are outlined. Case studies from Newfoundland and Labrador illustrate the use of the FWQI for communication, performance evaluation, and planning and technical data analysis. The FWQI tool has the ability to compare pre-and post-forestry water quality data (communication), determine the effectiveness of best management practices (performance evaluation), predict water quality after forestry activities (planning) and evaluate seasonal variations in water quality (data analysis). These components provide useful information for the evaluation of the effects of forestry activities on water quality and to ensure sustainable forest management. It can be utilized by both forestry and water resources management to ensure sustainable development of the forestry sector.

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