Water commands a unique place among natural resources. It supports other resources such as fisheries and forests; it provides an important medium for transportation and energy generation; it is a valued recreational resource; and, it is essential to life. Because water is abundant in most of Canada, it has often been used casually and with little restraint. But often population growth, industrialization, and urbanization have imposed demands that strain the capacity and quality of some natural water systems.

Our work on water quality and the aquatic environment has included:

• monitoring of water and sediment quality and aquatic biota structures and diversity
• analysis of interpretations of environmental monitoring data
• assessment of impacts on the aquatic environment of existing or proposed projects
• development and application of computer models that simulate contaminant behaviour in the environment and transfer through aquatic ecosystems.
• evaluation of the assimilative capacity of river systems
• evaluation of the trophic status and development capacity of lake systems