GNWT ECC NWT-Wide Community Based Monitoring Program_Continual Sonde (YSI) Data

The Northwest Territories Community-Based Monitoring (CBM) Program was established in 2012 under the Northern Voices, Northern Waters strategy to support Indigenous-led water stewardship across the territory. Co-developed by the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT–Environment and Climate Change) and more than 21 Indigenous communities organization, government and land guardian programs, the program centers on a shared question: What’s in our water, and how is it changing? Today, community monitors collect water samples at 63 sites across the NWT, while the GNWT provides training, equipment, and laboratory analysis to support consistent, high-quality data collection.

Water quality data are collected primarily during the open-water season, typically from June to October. Monitoring includes surface grab sampling for over 90 water quality parameters; continuous two-hour interval measurements of temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, chlorophyll, pH, and ORP using YSI EXO2 sondes; and the deployment of polyethylene membrane devices to capture hydrocarbons.
The CBM program is part of a broader territorial Partnership Aquatic Quality Monitoring network, encompassing approximately 90+ sites across the North Slave, South Slave, Beaufort Delta, Sahtu, Great Slave Lake, and transboundary river regions. Together, these collaborative monitoring efforts provide long-term data needed to track water quality trends, support community priorities, and strengthen understanding of how waters across the Northwest Territories are changing over time.

This dataset is specific to the YSI EXO 2 sondes. These devices collect continuous data, including: water temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, chlorophyll, pH, and ORP every 2-hours for the duration of the open-water season. Data collected by the sondes is interpreted by ECC staff.

This dataset is linked to the grab sample data found here: https://doi.org/10.25976/4der-gd31