In 1969, the Red River Pollution Board was created under the chairpersonship of a Canadian and United States member. In the directive to the board, the International Joint Commission formally established water quality objectives for total dissolved solids, fecal coliform, sulphate, dissolved oxygen and chlorides. This short presentation focusses on water quality objectives, the RRPB Alert Levels and the monitoring performed at the International Boundary of the Red River.
This book is a collection of papers presented at the 2nd International River Quality Symposium. The papers give case studies of the quality of rivers in different parts of the world, focusing particularly on the polluted Vistula River in Poland and the revived Will amette River in Oregon, USA which was the subject of a major cleaning operation in the 1970s. The book provides valuable information on the quality of rivers in Eastern Europe, particulary Poland. It is timely since, with the collapse of communism, Eastern European countries are faced with tackling huge environmental problems created by the lack of investment in environmental technology. The situation in Poland is contrasted with the USA and UK where water pollution problems have largely been overcome.
The Garrison Diversion Unit project is a multifaceted water development scheme which, if fully implemented, would transfer water from the Missouri River to the Souris and Red Rivers and subsequently to Lake Winnipeg. The Government of Canada has maintained that water flowing from the project into Canada would cause injury to health and property in Canada and would contravene Article IV of the 1909 Boundary Water Treaty. The International Joint Commission (IJC) was requested to investigate the potential pollution of waters crossing the international boundary in the Red River, and established a continuous robot water quality monitor at the international boundary near Emerson, Manitoba which measures pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, chloride and temperature. This report assesses the reliability of the data collected by the continous water quality monitor; evaluates the extent of compliance with the IJC water quality objectives; and examines the usefulness of the monitor data in determining the water quality trends in the Red River.
