EDMONTON - Information on water quality conditions in the province's many lakes, rivers and reservoirs is now just a mouse-click away for all Albertans.

Alberta Environment's new Surface Water Quality Web site offers information about the province's surface water quality, and how it is studied and monitored.

The site also features the provincial Surface Water Quality Guidelines, shows how the Surface Water Quality Index is calculated and applied, and outlines procedures for obtaining data on lakes and rivers in the province. Visitors to the site can also learn about the various partners around the province that monitor and evaluate water quality in cooperation with Alberta Environment.

Protecting Alberta's surface and groundwater quality is a key direction of the government's draft water strategy - Water for Life: Alberta's Strategy for Sustainability - released on March 27 for public discussion. Under this key direction the government would, among other things, enhance monitoring and reporting on the quality of water in Alberta's watersheds.

"Effective monitoring and reporting of this kind of information will be a valuable resource for planning as we move forward with our provincial water strategy," said Environment Minister Lorne Taylor. "This Web site is another step in making more information readily available to Albertans."

Alberta's surface water quality conditions can be found at www.gov.ab.ca/env/water/swq/.

The province's draft water strategy is available online at www.waterforlife.gov.ab.ca.

Ninety-eight per cent of all the water consumed in Alberta comes from surface water sources like lakes and rivers. The remaining two per cent comes from groundwater sources under the surface of the ground.

For further information:

Mike Lupien
Communications
Alberta Environment
(780) 427-5533