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Industrial development within Canada's boreal zone has increased in recent decades. Forest management activities, pulp and paper operations, electric power generation, mining, conventional oil and gas extraction, nonconventional oil sand development, and peat mining occur throughout the boreal zone with varying impacts on water resources. We review impacts of these industries on surface water, groundwater, and wetlands recognizing that heterogeneity in the dominance of different hydrologic processes (i.e., precipitation, evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge, and runoff generation) across the boreal zone influences the degree of impacts on water resources. Through the application of best management practices, forest certification programs, and science-based guidelines, timber, pulp and paper, and peat industries have reduced their impacts on water resources, although uncertainties remain about long-term recovery following disturbance. Hydroelectric power developments have moved toward reducing reservoir size and creating more natural flow regimes, although impacts of aging infrastructure and dam decommissioning is largely unknown. Mineral and metal mining industries have improved regulation and practices, but the legacy of abandoned mines across the boreal zone still presents an ongoing risk to water resources. Oil and gas industries, including non-conventional resources such as oil sands, is one of the largest industrial users of water and, while significant progress has been made in reducing water use, more work is needed to ensure the protection of water resources. All industries contribute to atmospheric deposition of pollutants that may eventually be released to downstream waters. Although most industrial sectors strive to improve their environmental performance with regards to water resources, disruptions to natural flow regimes and risks of degraded water quality exist at local to regional scales in the boreal zone. Addressing the emerging challenge of managing the expanding, intensifying, and cumulative effects of industries in conjunction with other stressors, such as climate change and atmospheric pollution, across the landscape will aid in preserving Canada's rich endowment of water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Source water protection (SWP) is the most important step in the implementation of a multi-barrier approach that ensures cost-effective delivery of safe drinking water. However, implementing SWP strategies can be a challenging task owing to technical and administrative issues. Decision support tools for effective implementation of SWP strategies can be very helpful that may lead to saving time and resources. This paper critically reviews different SWP strategies available for surface waters and also discusses various formulations for water quality assessment at the source. Source water quality regulations in Canada and other jurisdictions around the world are also discussed. Stormwater management ponds, vegetated filter strips, pollution control by effective agricultural practice (e.g., cover crop and crop rotation) and fencing are found to be frequently mentioned in those regulations. These strategies are discussed in details in terms of their key features to achieve the highest possible removal efficiencies for selected water quality parameters. Finally, a conceptual model is proposed to evaluate water quality changes at the source based on selected source water protection strategies. The model uses SWP strategies as a means to reduce possible pollutants in the source water. It also utilizes simple mass balance equations (dilution) to estimate the concentrations in the receiving water bodies and does not consider physico-chemical and other reactions. A surrogate measure, water quality index (WQI), based on selected water quality parameters, is used for the assessment of source water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]