20260413 11105800 1.0 TRUE Freshwater quality at monitoring sites, Canada Note: The interactive map includes 336 water quality monitoring sites across Canada. Of these, 172 “Core” sites were used to calculate the national Freshwater Quality Indicator. “Core” sites are selected to be representative of Canada’s 16 drainage regions where human activities are most intense. The remaining 164 “Local” sites have been included to provide more local information. The Freshwater quality indicator is calculated using the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment’s Water Quality Index. Water quality is assessed by examining the extent to which water quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic life are being met at selected river water quality monitoring sites throughout Canada. Care must be taken in comparing water quality categories between sites as methodological differences exist among jurisdictions. Source: Data were assembled by Environment and Climate Change Canada from existing federal, provincial, territorial and joint water quality monitoring programs.