Fraser Riverkeeper Vancouver Community-Based Water Monitoring Program

The False Creek Water Monitoring Program, is a community science initiative by Fraser Riverkeeper, a Swim Drink Fish initiative. It was launched in the summer of 2018 on Granville Island, Vancouver, British Columbia. Water samples at seven locations in and around False Creek were collected and processed weekly by staff and volunteer monitoring teams. Samples were analysed for E. coli levels at our new in-house Swim Drink Fish IDEXX lab and results shared with the public through the Swim Guide app.
The program found that water quality in False Creek generally meets government guidelines. Bacteria levels are highest in the easternmost part of False Creek, near Olympic Village. After our first summer on the water, we recommend expanding the program to monitor year-round. This would improve our understanding of water quality during the rainy months and provide water quality information to the many people who use False Creek all year long. We also recommend collecting more samples at each location, to refine our testing results.