AWQA Day is always June 5, free kits not available this year
Question: I have a grade 8 science class and came upon your website. It says that AWQA Day only runs every 3 years... does this mean I can't get a test kit and share the results until 2015? It looks like a really neat program, I'm hoping we can do something :) Thank you.
Answer: We encourage you to celebrate AWQA Day each year as part of Environment Week! However, we can only supply free kits every three years. You can participate by purchasing kits ($10) each or coming up with your own way to test water. We likely won't be collecting results this year as we are planning a new website and the database will be down for awhile. After the new website is running (check back in a few months) we will begin collecting data from all our participants. Also keep in mind that the kits can be reused from year to year and the tablets don't expire for about 2 years.
We have set up PayPal links to make it easy to purchase kits or replacement tablets (usually a classroom uses about 3). All of the same resources are available on our website to incorporate a kit into a lesson.
Feel free to contact us if you have any other questions!
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Help us to help you.
We are updating this website, awqa.ca, and our parent website, www.alms.ca. Please fill in this brief website feedback survey (5 minutes!) to help guide our efforts. Many thanks!
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Need more kits?
We have some test kits supplies still available. If you are interested in purchasing a kit ($10 each) or extra tablets please contact us or simply order here.
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2012 AWQA Results
In 2012, over 1700 people, including students, families, and landowners, collected water quality results from 255 sites
across Alberta as part of this province-wide education and awareness
event. The water was tested for basic water quality parameters:
temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH and turbidity. In the table below you
will find the breakdown of the results for these parameters in each
major Alberta watershed.
This year's Participant Summary Report includes sampling results, photos, and commentary. Click Here to Download PDF (5.5 MB). Note: if you have difficulty downloading the PDFs and would like to be mailed a hard copy, please email us with your contact information and we'd be happy to mail you as many as you'd like!
2012 Water Quality Results Dissolved Oxygen (DO): 72% of water sampled for the AWQA Day program was above 4 ppm,
meaning moderate to healthy levels were observed at the time of
sampling. pH: 80.4% of surface waters tested had a pH between 7 and 10, which is
ideal for sustaining healthy aquatic plants and animals. Water Temperature: The
various waterways tested, from ponds and dugouts to rivers and
wetlands, mainly had temperatures ranging from 16 oC to 20 oC. Waters
under 20 oC are favourable, as cooler waters are able to hold more
oxygen. 80.4% of water sampled in 2012 was below 20 oC.
Turbidity: 90.4% of the water sampled for the AWQA Day program had low to moderate turbidity (0-4 JTU).
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2009 Water Quality Results by Major Alberta Watershed
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Alberta - all sites
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Alberta - Dissolved Oxygen
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Alberta - Temperature
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Alberta - pH
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Alberta - Turbidity
| pdf
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Peace River - Dissolved Oxygen
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Peace River - Temperature
| pdf
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Peace River - pH
| pdf
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Peace River - Turbidity
| pdf
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| North Sask - Dissolved Oxygen | pdf
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| North Sask - Temperature | pdf
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| North Sask - Turbidity | pdf
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North Sask - pH
| pdf
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| South Sask - Dissolved Oxygen | pdf |
| South Sask - Temperature | pdf |
| South Sask - Turbidity | pdf |
| South Sask - pH | pdf |
| Milk - Dissolved Oxygen | pdf |
| Milk - Temperature | pdf |
| Milk - Turbidity | pdf |
| Milk - pH | pdf |
| Beaver - Dissolved Oxygen | pdf |
| Beaver - Temperature | pdf |
| Beaver - Turbidity | pdf |
| Beaver - pH | pdf |
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AWQA Prize Winners
Congratulations to our 2012 Photo Contest Winners:
Taken on the banks of the Tay River west of Caroline, Alberta. It is a group of young water enthusiasts participating in a sampling adventure. Photo by: Jan McGlone, Clear Water Landcare.
Photo taken at Devonshire Beach on Lesser Slave Lake. Photo by: Cori Klassen, Slave Lake.
Pyramid Lake, Jasper National Park. Photo by: Yang Gao, Calgary.
Photo by: Cindy Noskiye, Wabasca.
Also congratulations to Edmonton area Girl Guides and Darryl Feldberg of Wetaskiwin who won our data entry prizes.
Stay tuned for the 2012 Participant Summary Report out next month!
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Celebrate World Water Monitoring Day - Sept 18
Today is World Water Monitoring Day. Consider comparing the results of sampling with your AWQA kit with results from around the world!
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August 31 is the last day to sample
30 more days to test your local waterbody. Maybe you've already done it? Many physical, chemical and biological changes happen to our lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, etc as summer progresses. Sample again and find out how yours has changed!
Last day to upload your results is Sept 15. After that date we will be working on compiling the results into a snap-shot of water quality for the province.
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AWQA Beach Outreach
Alberta Water Quality Awareness is heading out to beaches across Alberta to do water quality testing demonstrations and provide information on healthy lakes and watersheds. See our events page (on the right column) for a list of dates that we will be at your local beach.
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AWQA Prizes
Do you know that we have prizes available for AWQA samplers? Thanks to these generous sponsors we can offer prizes for our photo contest, data entry and survey completion!
- Wildbird General Store - "Water in Canada" book and an i-Moose
- The Fishing Hole - Fishing rod and sun visor
- City of Edmonton - Attraction passes for groups
- West Edmonton Mall - Attraction passes for groups
- Costco - Gift card
- Optix Picture Studio and Custom Framing - Framed print
- You can also win field guides to birds, butterflies and insects of Alberta!
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AWQA Day 2012
Here are some ideas for ways to participate in AWQA Day 2012, learn more, and spread the message about water quality:
1. Head out to your local river, pond, lake, stream, wetland, or dugout with your AWQA kit and do one sample. Upload the site location and the results of the tests here.
2. Share the experience through photos or social media like Facebook or Twitter. Start a conversation about what you've learned with your friends, family or colleagues.
3. Participate in an AWQA Day event near you!
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Water Quality Testing Begins!
Registration
for free kits closed on April 30, but then the fun begins! Your test
kits will be mailed to you in the first few weeks of May. You can head
out and explore your watershed anytime between May and Aug 31. Here are some valuable tips to help ensure your AWQA testing runs as safely and fluidly as possible.
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Registration FAQ
"I would like to do water testing with up to 70 students. How many students can use each kit? Can I order more kits if needed?"
You
may be surprised how far one kit can go! An individual kit will do ten
samples of dissolved oxygen and pH (temperature and turbidity are
unlimited). You may choose to have a group of 4 or 5 students per kit
(and use up only one sample) or set up four stations and have groups
rotate through them all. Its really up to you how to divide up the
materials and students. Check out our lesson plan or group activity sheet for detailed examples. You can print off more test kit booklets or data sheets too.
Still need additional kits? They are available for purchase, visit the FAQs page on this website and use the PayPal link to purchase kits.
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Registration is Open!
If you would like an individual kit (10 tests) or a group kit (30 tests) then sign in to our registration system and let us know where to send it.
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AWQA 2012
Starting in April 2012 will be opening up registration for another year of Alberta Water Quality Awareness (AWQA). Did you notice I didn't say "Day"? AWQA Day has been a program since 2005 and has provided a means for increased public awareness of water quality by monitoring local water ways in Alberta watersheds. Yet monitoring activities have never been restricted to just one day! We can still observe AWQA day on June 5, as part of Environment Week, but you may find us refering to the program as just AWQA, reflecting the entire open-water season that is available for testing and reporting.
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AWQA Day to run on a 3 year schedule
Due to funding challenges, participation not likely to increase , AWQA Day will now run on a three year schedule. But no worries! Kits are available for purchase in the meantime and we will again run the free program in 2012.
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AWQA Day 2009 Photo Contest WINNER!
Congratulations to Jim Lewis of Fort McMurray!
Jim has won $50 in gift certificates from the Federation of Alberta Naturalists.
.jpg)
Jim and his grandchildren Cassidy and Colten on the Clearwater River.
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AWQA Day Data Entry Now Closed
Stay Tuned for the 2009 AWQA Day Results!
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AWQA Day 2008 Photo Contest Winner!
Congratulations to Michelle Olsen of Stony Plain, AB, our 2008 Photo Contest Winner!
Michelle won a Gift Pack from WildBird General Store!
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AWQA Day 2008 Results Now Available!
The AWQA Day 2008 testing season has come to a close and the results are now posted. Click on the Results tab to see the full report!
Alberta Water Quality Awareness (AWQA) Day 2008 was a grand success! 3081 Albertans got out and explored the water quality of their local ponds, rivers and wetlands from May 15th to August 31st 2008. Together, Albertans of all ages sampled 645 sites for four basic water quality parameters: temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH and turbidity. The findings, collected from across the province, were pooled to create a snapshot of water quality. The greatest accomplishment, however, was the collective effort of thousands of Albertans to monitor the state of their local waterways and to discover more about the importance of water quality and healthy watersheds.
Thank you to all who participated!
If you missed out this year email us at info@alms.ca and we will add your name to our reminder list for the 2009 season. Test kits can also be purchased for $10 plus shipping; however, your data will not be entered into this year's results.
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AWQA Day 2008 Contest Winners!
We have a wide variety of contests throughout the AWQA Day season. Here are this year's winners:
Data Entry - win great prizes just by entering your data online!
FIRST PRIZE: Lindsay Cherpin of Morrin, AB won a Jet Boat Safari for 4 people courtesy of Iron River Ranch!
SECOND PRIZE: Rosemary Jacobsen of Edmonton, AB won a $40 Gift Certificate donated by Earth's General Store!
THIRD PRIZE: Aly Seymour of Eckville, AB won a copy of the book, "On the Living Edge"!
SCHOOL: Peter Dang's Grade 8 class at Aurora Charter School won 50 Fitness passes from Edmonton Recreation Centres!
Congratulations to all of our AWQA Day winners!
Participant feedback is in!
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