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Based on minimal information, lakes in the western Canadian provinces of Manitoba (MB) and Saskatchewan (SK) have long been considered unaffected by acid rain. However, emissions of acidifying pollutants from MB smelters and oil sand processing in Alberta (AB) may pose a developing threat. Surveys of 347 lakes located on geologically sensitive terrain in northern MB and SK were conducted to assess their acidification sensitivity and status. The survey domain (~193,000 km2) contained 81,494 lakes ≥1 ha in area. Small lakes dominated the inventory in terms of numbers, and large lakes dominated in terms of area. Survey lakes were selected using a stratified-random sampling design in 10 sampling blocks within the overall survey domain. Few lakes had pH

Runoff or water yield is an important input to the Steady-State Water Chemistry (SSWC) model for estimating critical loads of acidity. Herein, we present site-specific water yield estimates for a large number of lakes (779) across three provinces of western Canada (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia) using an isotope mass balance (IMB) approach. We explore the impact of applying site-specific hydrology as compared to use of regional runoff estimates derived from gridded datasets in assessing critical loads of acidity to these lakes. In general, the average water yield derived from IMB is similar to the long-term average runoff; however, IMB results suggest a much larger range in hydrological settings of the lakes, attributed to spatial heterogeneity in watershed characteristics and landcover. The comparison of critical loads estimates from the two methods suggests that use of average regional runoff data in the SSWC model may overestimate critical loads for the majority of lakes due to systematic skewness in the actual runoff distributions. Implications for use of site-specific hydrology in regional critical loads assessments across western Canada are discussed.

Boreal ecosystems in northwest Saskatchewan may be threatened by acidification as this area is downwind of atmospheric emissions sources from regional oil sands mining operations. To evaluate the status of lakes in this region, a survey of 259 headwater lakes was conducted during 2007–2008 within ~300 km of Fort McMurray, Alberta. Acid sensitivity by ecoregion increased from Mid-Boreal Upland to Churchill River Upland to Athabasca Plain, with 60% of lakes classified as sensitive (50–200 μeq L–1 acid neutralizing capacity (ANC)), and 8% as very sensitive (

Stable isotopes of water were applied to estimate water yield to fifty lakes in northeastern Alberta as part of an acid sensitivity study underway since 2002 in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR). Herein, we apply site-specific water yields for each lake to calculate critical loads of acidity using water chemistry data and a steady-state water chemistry model. The main goal of this research was to improve site-specific critical load estimates and to understand the sensitivity to hydrologic variability across a Boreal Plains region under significant oil sands development pressure. Overall, catchment water yields were found to vary significantly over the seven year monitoring period, with distinct variations among lakes and between different regions, overprinted by inter-annual climate-driven shifts. Analysis of critical load estimates based on site-specific water yields suggests that caution must be applied to establish hydrologic conditions and define extremes at specific sites in order to protect more sensitive ecosystems. In general, lakes with low (high) water yield tended to be more (less) acid sensitive but were typically less (more) affected by interannual hydrological variations. While it has been customary to use long-term water yields to define a static critical load for lakes, we find that spatial and temporal variability in water yield may limit effectiveness of this type of assessment in areas of the Boreal Plain characterized by heterogeneous runoff and without a long-term lake-gauging network. Implications for predicting acidification risk are discussed for the AOSR.