An integrated monitoring, statistical analysis and First Nations community engagement approach for water quality assessment in Necoslie River Watershed

The community of Nak’azdli Whut’en has been highly impacted by the watershed deterioration, as they currently have no access to clean water. The physicochemical and biological water quality parameters will be monitored for one-year. In addition, through the collaboration with the Nak’azdli band council and School District 91, a local team of high school students will be trained to help with water sampling and some on-site analysis of water quality parameters and the installation and maintenance of water quality monitoring data loggers. Multivariate statistical techniques, including principal component analysis (PCA), will be used for data analysis to evaluate the contribution of various sources to the river water quality and the application of the water quality index method. The results obtained from this project will provide valuable information for understanding the Necoslie river environment and its causes of pollution so that improved and sustainable watershed planning can be developed in the future.

Faculty Supervisor:

Jianbing Li

Student:

Partner:

Nak'azdli Development Corporation

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Public administration

University:

University of Northern British Columbia

Program: