One of the major Canadian environmental challenges is the maintenance of freshwater resources for drinking, fishing, and recreation purposes. The Frequent occurrence of harmful algal blooms (HAB) in lakes like ‘Elk and Beaver Lake’ on Vancouver Island threatens the quality and safety of drinking water, dependant wildlife, livestock, and recreational and economical activities of the local communities.
This project is partly funded by SICCASI-‘Students in Community: Climate and Sustainability Initiative’. More information about SICCASI could be obtained at https://www.uvic.ca/about-uvic/climate-sustainability.php. In this project, we are partnering with CRD Parks and Recreation to build and deploy a smart algal monitoring system that uses both the in-situ monitoring system and satellite imagery to provide a credible alert of Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) and in the long-term provide comprehensive data for assessing and remediation of Elk Lake and contribute to local as well as global policymaking, in particular concerning SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation).