Petitcodiac Watershed Water Temperature Monitoring

The Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance has been monitoring water temperature in the lower Petitcodiac River subwatershed since 2018, to better understand the temperature fluctuation in urban streams. The program began with 20 HOBO TidbiT v2 temperature loggers installed to (n=20) pre-determined sites in the urban watershed. This survey method was set to collect temperature readings every hour, for several months, at multiple points in the watershed. Temperatures were looked at based on a predetermined suitability for aquatic health per the same guidelines which we use for monitoring and evaluating at our monthly monitoring sites. This method helps the PWA identify the potential locations of thermal refuges within our watershed, and urban freshwater habitats at risk of rising water temperatures. This program would not be possible without our key funders, the New Brunswick Environmental Trust Fund, and other important funders such as the Government of Canada and RBC.