Description: The General Objectives of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement state that Waters should be a source of safe, high quality drinking water, allow for swimming and other recreational use unrestricted by environmental quality concerns and all for human consumption of fish and wildlife unrestricted by concerns due to harmful pollutants. The three measures that contribute to this category include Fish Consumption, Beach Postings and Treated Drinking Water.
Description: This data was derived as part of the Overall Assessment of the State of Nearshore Waters. Sampling block locations and associated consumption advisories were extracted from the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks Guide to Eating Ontario Fish. The number of meals per month recommended for certain fish species and size classes were summarized based on the average total meals per month. This was used to assign low, moderate or high stress to each Regional Unit.Points represent the centroid of a Regional Unit. An average of -99 indicates that there was no data for that species/size class.Note that some Sampling block locations are used to assess Fish Consumption within more then one Regional Unit. Low Stress: 8 or more meals per month; Moderate Stress: between 1 and 7 meals per month; High Stress: less than 1 meal per monthLAKE ERIE: Smallmouth Bass (size class:20-45 cm), Yellow Perch (size class:20-30 cm) and Walleye (size class: 35-55 cm); Guide Years 2015, 2017LAKE ONTARIO: Northern Pike (size class: 50-70 cm), Yellow Perch (size class: 20-30 cm) and Walleye (size class: 35-55 cm); Guide Years 2015, 2017LAKE SUPERIOR: Lake Trout (size class: 40-70 cm), Lake Whitefish (size class: 40-60 cm) and Yellow Perch (size class: 20-30 cm); Guide Years 2015, 2017, 2020
Copyright Text: Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) - Strategic Policy Branch - RDGO
Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks Guide to Eating Ontario Fish: advisory database: https://data.ontario.ca/dataset/guide-to-eating-ontario-fish-advisory-database
Name: Beach Postings: Percent of Days Beach Posted as Unsafe for Swimming
Display Field: BeachName
Type: Feature Layer
Geometry Type: esriGeometryPoint
Description: This data was derived as part of the Overall Assessment of the State of Nearshore Waters. Across the Great Lakes, public beaches are popular recreation spots and use should not be restricted by environmental quality concerns. Poor water quality at beaches due to bacterial contamination can have negative effects on human health and limit recreational useBeach locations and the percent of time that a beach was posted were extracted from the Swim Drink Fish Swim Guide. The average amount of time that each beach was posted as unsafe for swimming was calculated and used to assign low, moderate or high stress to each Regional Unit. LAKE SUPERIOR: July and August 2015-2019; LAKE ERIE: July and August 2015-2016; LAKE ONTARIO: July and August 2018Low Stress: beaches posted 5% or less of the time; Moderate Stress: beaches posted 5 to 20% of the time; High Stress: beaches posted over 20% of the time
Copyright Text: Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) - Strategic Policy Branch - RDGO
Swim Drink Fish Canada
Name: Treated Drinking Water: Number of Adverse Water Quality Incidents
Display Field: RegionalUnitID
Type: Feature Layer
Geometry Type: esriGeometryPoint
Description: This data was derived as part of the Overall Assessment of the State of Nearshore Waters. The Great Lakes are a source of drinking water for millions of Canadians and should not have an adverse impact on human health. Water intended for human consumption should not contain disease-causing organisms (e.g. E. coli) or other hazardous concentrations of toxic chemicals or radioactive substances. The locations of drinking water treatment plants were obtained and the number of adverse qater quality incidents (AWQI) reported within each Regional Unit was summarized to assign low or high stress. Drinking water treatment plant locations are sensitive, and not provided; points represent the centroid of a Regional Unit. Not all Regional Units have a drinking water treatment plant.Low Stress: no adverse water quality incidents; High Stress: one or more adverse water quality incidents
Copyright Text: Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) - Strategic Policy Branch - RDGO
Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks Drinking Water Treatment Plant Monitoring data
Description: A number of General Objectives of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement refer to the Waters being free from pollutants in quantities or concentrations that could be harmful to human health, wildlife or aquatic organisms through direct or indirect exposure through the food chain. Measures in this category have been developed that aim to identify nearshore areas that are - or may become - degraded due to contaminants. These include Benthic Community, Water Quality and Sediment Quality.
Description: This data was integrated into the Overall Assessment of the State of Nearshore Waters. The general health of an ecosystem may be reflected in the benthic invertebrate community, as composition can vary from habitat conditions and human stressors. Contaminants in benthic communities can bioaccumulate or biomagnify in the food chain and become a source of contamination to other aquatic life and to humans. The benthic community is assessed through statistical analysis of survey sites using total benthos, taxon richness and evenness(Lakes Ontario and Superior) or tolerance (Lake Erie).LAKE SUPERIOR: Data is summarized by Regional Unit (points are the Regional Unit centroid); within each Regional Unit, the mean total benthos, taxon richness and evenness was calculated using the MECP stations within the Regional Unit. This was done to weight each Regional Unit equally when classifying quality.Source data is from Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) Great Lakes Index Stations (2011) Network.LAKE ERIE:Benthic community quality is summarized by total benthos, taxon richness and average tolerance to disturbance of individuals at each survey station; sites with higher tolerance scores have, generally, a more tolerant benthic community. Source data is the Erie Collaborative Comprehensive Study (2004).LAKE ONTARIO: Benthic community quality summarized at each MECP or ECCC survey station in each sample year; generally, higher quality corresponds to higher total benthos, higher taxon richness and higher evenness. Source data is the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) Great Lakes Index Stations (2006, 2009, 2012) Network and Environment and Climate Change Canada's (ECCC) Great Lakes Action Plan Area of Concern and Reference Sites (2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014).Low Stress: benthic community condition is functional; Moderate Stress: benthic community condition is degraded but functional; High Stress: benthic community condition is degraded and not functional
Copyright Text: Various datasets; see lake specific descriptions.
Name: Water Quality: Exceedances in Provincial/Federal Guidelines
Display Field: StationNum
Type: Feature Layer
Geometry Type: esriGeometryPoint
Description: This data was derived as part of the Overall Assessment of the State of Nearshore Waters. Contaminants in water can have acute and chronic impacts on aquatic organisms that depend on water for some part of their life cycle. The number of exceedances of contaminants with published Provincial Water Quality Objectives or Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life has been summarized for each station, using the most recent sampling years. In Lake Ontario, the most recent MECP sampling years are 2006, 2009, 2012; in Lake Erie,2007, 2010, 2014 and 2016; and in Lake Superior, these arefrom 2016 & 2019 (ECCC) and 2011 (MECP).Data is from the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks Great Lakes Nearshore Index Station Networkand ECCC's Great Lakes Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance Data.Low Stress: 0 exceedances; Moderate Stress: 1 - 2 exceedances; High Stress: >2 exceedances
Copyright Text: Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) - Strategic Policy Branch - RDGO
ECCC Great Lakes Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance Data and MECP Great Lakes Nearshore Index Station Network - Water Chemistry
Name: Sediment Quality: Exceedances in Provincial/Federal Guidelines
Display Field: StationName
Type: Feature Layer
Geometry Type: esriGeometryPoint
Description: This data was derived as part of the Overall Assessment of the State of Nearshore Waters. Contaminants in bottom sediment have the potential to be released into the water column and enter the food chain, which can lead to toxic and reproductive effects in species, as well as bioaccumulation in aquatic life. Sediment quality is assessed using the severity of median contaminant levels in sediment for four categories (metals, organochlorine pesticides, PAHs and PCBs) at Provincial long-term monitoring stationsin each Regional Unit.Median results for PCBs, metals and PAHs at each index station were calculated, and compared to Provincial and Federal guidelines, for data inthe most recent sampling years of the MECP Great Lakes Nearshore Index Stations. In Lakes Erie and Ontario, these include2007, 2010, 2014 & 2016 and in Lake Superior, 2011.Provincial guidelines establish three levels of effect:No Effect Level (NEL)indicates concentrations of a chemical in sediment that has no effect on fish or sediment-dwelling organisms; at this level, negligible transfer of chemicals through the food chain and no effect on water quality is expected. Sediment meeting the NEL are considered clean.Lowest Effect Level (LEL)indicates a level of contamination that can be tolerated by the majority of sediment-dwelling organisms; sediment that meet the LEL are considered clean to marginally polluted.Severe Effect Level (SEL)indicates a level of contamination that is expected to be detrimental to the majority of sediment-dwelling organisms; sediment exceeding the SEL are considered to be heavily contaminated.Federally, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) guidelines refer to a Threshold Effect Level (TEL)that represents the concentration below which adverse biological effects are expected to rarely occur and a Probable Effect Level (PEL)above which adverse effects are expected to occur frequently. The PEL is recommended as an additional sediment quality assessment tool that can be useful for identifying sediments in which adverse biological effects are more likely to occur (CCME, 2001). The Index Station locations are from the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks Great Lakes Nearshore Index Station Network.Low Stress: PCBs < No Effect Level, Organochlorine pesticides & PAHs < Lowest Effect Levels, Metals < Probable or Severe Effect Levels; Moderate Stress: PCBs > No Effect Level OR Organochlorine pesticides & PAHs > Lowest Effect Levels OR Metals > Probable Effect Levels but < Severe Effect Levels; High Stress: Any contaminant > Severe Effect Level
Copyright Text: Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) - Strategic Policy Branch - RDGO
Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks Great Lakes Nearshore Index Station Network: https://data.ontario.ca/dataset/sediment-chemistry-great-lakes-nearshore-areas
Description: General Objectives of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement refer to the Waters of the Great Lakes supporting healthy and productive wetlands and other habitats to sustain resilient populations of native species and being free from materials or conditions that may negatively impact the chemical, physical or biological integrity of the Waters of the Great Lakes. Functional nearshore ecosystems require maintenance of natural physical processes both in the watershed and along the coastline, as these processes create and moderate the ecosystem through transfers of energy, water and sediment. Classified by measures that consider a nearshore ecosystem where the physical integrity is unimpeded, the Coastal Processes category is comprised of three measures: Littoral Barries, Shoreline Hardening and Tributary Connectivity
Description: This data was derived as part of the Overall Assessment of the State of Nearshore Waters. The supply, transport and deposition of sediment are natural processes that form and maintain coastal features like wetlands and beaches. Artificial shore perpendicular structures (littoral barriers) can disrupt natural movements of sediment and affect the integrity of ecosystems. Littoral barriers is assessed by counting the number of littoral barriers (>100 m in length) in a Regional Unit. Barrie is represented by the line centroid, for mapping purposes.Littoral barriers were digitized using best available imagery, at a scale of approximately 1:2,000. Point represents centroid of littoral barrier, for mapping purposes.A littoral barrier is a shore perpendicular structure that, for purposes of the Overall Assessment of the State of Nearshore Waters, is at least 100 metres in length.In Regional Units where littoral drift is not a dominant coastal process, the measure not apply and is tagged as "N/A'.Low Stress: 0 littoral barriers; Moderate Stress: 1 littoral barrier; High Stress: >1 littoral barrier
Description: This data was derived as part of the Overall Assessment of the State of Nearshore Waters. Across the Great Lakes, much of the nearshore, waters edge or back of beach has been altered with engineered structures or artificial material. Hardened shorelines reduce coastal resiliency by altering sediment dynamics, accelerating erosion, increasing water turbidity & destroying local vegetation. Shoreline hardening is assessed by determining the percent of the total length of shoreline in a Regional Unit that is hardened.The shoreline of the Canadian Great Lakes has been delineated as either "natural" or "hardened" based on the following definitions:Natural Shoreline: no engineered or aritificial structures in the nearshore, at the waters edge, toe of bluff, backshore or back of the beach; rising and falling water levels result in natural changes in the shoreline position; wildlife usage and vegetation migration upslope and downslope can occur unimpeded; natural vegetation communities, consistent with local conditions, are generally present along the shore.Hardened Shoreline: the nearshore, waters edge, toe of bluff, backshore or back of beach has been altered with engineered structures or artificial material (e.g. offshore breakwaters, lakefill, groynes, seawalls, revetments, dumped concrete rubble, artificial channels, dikes, etc.); natural shoreline processes are altered, and native vegetation communities are generally absent.Best available, most recent aerial imagery was used for the delineation, at a scale of approximately 1:2,000. Low Stress: <25% shoreline hardening; Moderate Stress: 25-50% shoreline hardening; High Stress: >50% shoreline hardening
Description: This data was derived as part of the Overall Assessment of the State of Nearshore Waters.Connectivity between watersheds and the nearshore supports healthy habitats and promotes natural physical processes. Barriers to connectivity can restrict access of fishes to spawning/nursery habitats and alter nutrient flows and coastal processes. Tributary connectivity is assessed by calculating the percent of the total length of tributaries flowing into a Regional Unit that are connected to the nearshore.Tributaries are a subset of the Ontario Integrated Hydro Network and have been assessed as either 'connected' 'naturally disconnected' or 'disconnected' from a Regional Unit.Connected:tributary is downstream of a barrier (e.g. dam) and hydrologically connected to the nearshore.Disconnected: tributary is upstream of a barrier (e.g. dam) and hydrologically disconnected from the nearshore.Naturally disconnected: tributary is upstream of a waterfallTributaries are dissolved by 'Status.'Low Stress: >75% of the total length of tributaries are connected to the Regional Unit: Moderate Stress: 25-75% of the total length of tributaries are connected to the Regional Unit; High Stress: <25% of the total length of tributaries are connected to the Regional Unit.This layer is a cartographic representation of the area of tributaries that drain into each Regional Unit.
Description: General Objectives in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement refer to the Waters of the Great Lakes being free from nutrients that directly or indirectly enter the water as a result of human activity, in amounts that promote the growth of algae and cyanobacteria that interfere with aquatic ecosystem health, or human use of the ecosystem. Although algae occurs naturally and is part of a healthy freshwater ecosystem, the Great Lakes have seen an increase in the occurrence of algal blooms. Algal blooms occur when there is excessive phytoplankton growth because of changes to water conditions – the most common of which is increases in nutrients (e.g. Phosphorus and Nitrogen). This category consists of two measures: Cyanobacteria and Cladophora (and Dissolved Oxygen in Lake Erie).
Description: This data was extracted as part of the Overall Assessment of the State of Nearshore Waters. Dissolved oxygen (DO) is the amount of oxygen available to aquatic organisms. Concentrations of DO below acceptable levels can lead to hypoxic conditions (i.e. little to no oxygen) and have adverse impacts on aquatic species in the nearshore.ECCC PSNs were extracted within each Regional Unit, and dissolved oxygen concentrations were compared to Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life. Samples below the acceptable thresholds within each Regional Unit have been used to assign low, moderate or high stress. Data used is from 2012 and 2014 (most recent sampling years at time of assessment).Dissolved oxygen concentrations greater than 6 mg/L are considered to be acceptable; below 6mg/L isbelow the acceptable thresholds for aquatic life.ECCC stations are from the Great Lakes Water Quality Monitoring and Aquatic Ecosystem Health Data.Low Stress: All samples greater than 6 mg/L; Moderate Stress: One or more samples between 2 and 6 mg/L; High Stress: One or more samples <2 mg/L
Copyright Text: Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) - Strategic Policy Branch - RDGO
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Great Lakes Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance Data: https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/cfdafa0c-a644-47cc-ad54-460304facf2e
Lake ERIE_WaterQuality_2000-present.csv
Description: This data was derived as part of the Overall Assessment of the State of Nearshore Waters. Cyanobacteria, a blue-green algae, occurs naturally in freshwater but an overgrowth can result in a harmful algae bloom that can release toxins dangerous to human and ecosystem health. Cyanobacteria is assessed by calculating the extent of cyanobacteria blooms detected within a Regional Unit, using satellite composites. An additional flag is assigned to Regional Units where cyanobacteria is a source of high stress, as it is considered a serious concern. Thresholds for severity are based on World Health Organization guidelines.Satellite composites are from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring program.LAKE ERIE: 10-day composite images from the MODIS satellite, with Cyanobacteria Index algorithm applied; June - October, 2012-2017LAKE ONTARIO: 10-day composite images from the MODIS satellite, with Cyanobacteria Index algorithm applied; June - October, 2016-2018LAKE SUPERIOR: 7-day composite images from the Sentinel 3Asatellite, with Cyanobacteria Index algorithm applied; June - October, 2019Points represent the Regional Unit centroid.Low Stress: no bloom; High Stress: bloom
Copyright Text: Environment and Climate Change Canada - Strategic Policy Branch - RDGO; National Oceanic & Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring program
Description: Cladophora is a native green algae that typically grows on hard substrate in shallow waters. It can become a nuisance when it detaches from the bottom and washes onto shore where it can foul beaches and water intakes. In the Overall Assessment of Nearshore Waters, Cladophora is assessed by calculating the percent of the total mapped area classified as submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in a 2016-2018 satellite-derived product from Michigan Tech Research Institute(MTRI)."Cladophora" are the areas classified as SAV in the MTRI mapping product, and likely to be Cladophora given the habitat characteristics (hard substrate, shallow waters)."Uncolonized substrate" are the areas where no SAV was detected in the MTRI mapping product. Cladophora is not assessed in Regional Units lacking hard substrate and with limited light availability, and in areas with coastal wetlands as the SAV in these areas may be wetland-associated vegetation and not nuisance Cladophora.For more information on the MTRI SAV mapping product, see https://mtri.org/cladophora.html. Low Stress: <20% coverage; Moderate Stress: 20-35% coverage; High Stress: >35% coverage
Copyright Text: Environment and Climate Change Canada - Strategic Policy Branch - RDGO
Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI)
Description: As part of the Overall Assessment of the State of Nearshore Waters, the nearshore has been delineated into into Regional Units based on physical parameters. Slow changing variables such as depth, substrate, river mouth boundaries, wave energy density and high water conditions were used for delineating the offshore and onshore boundaries of relevant units. Levels of stress (low, moderate, high) have been assigned to four categories and associated measures, and rolled up into an overall cumulative stress for each Regional Unit.This data supports Canadian commitments in the Lakewide Management Annex of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 2012 to provide an overall assessment of nearshore waters.
Copyright Text: Environment and Climate Change Canada; integrating various data sources