PEI

Atlantic Datastream offers centralized hub for water-quality data

There's a new way to track the health of watersheds in the Atlantic region.

Open access site allows watershed groups to input data

A worker with the Winter River-Tracadie Bay Watershed Association monitors water levels and flow speed in the river. (Steve Bruce/CBC)

There's a new way to track the health of watersheds in the Atlantic region.

Atlantic Datastream is an open-access site that allows watershed groups to input standardized, comparable data, such as nitrate and phosphate levels, and baseline data including water temperature.

The database was created by the Gordon Foundation and the Atlantic Water Network, with partnerships with the P.E.I. Watershed Alliance and the Hillsborough River Association.

Emma Wattie, the director of the Atlantic Water Network, said having a centralized hub for water-quality data will be a valuable resource.

"It's open access, meaning that anybody can view the data so that it can be used by decision-makers, whether that's government or larger NGOs or even local municipalities," she said.

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With files from Laura Chapin