What is Recreational Water Monitoring?
In Alberta, recreational water monitoring is carried out in order to assess the exposure risk of lake users to Enterococcus bacteria and blue-green algae (cyanobacteria). Monitoring is coordinated by Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services at priority beach locations across Alberta, from late May to early September. Results of the monitoring may result in advisories posted to specific beach locations (Enterococcus), or for a lake as a whole (cyanobacteria).
With support from Alberta Health, ALMS has hired a Recreational Water Technician to coordinate volunteers to sample beaches throughout Alberta for public health targets as part of Alberta Health’s recreational water monitoring network. The Recreational Water Technician has a technical diploma or degree in environmental public health or a related field, and has experience with program coordination and management.
View public health data related to cyanobacteria here.
Justin Marcinowski, Recreational Water Technician
While growing up in Alberta, Justin fell in love with being outside amongst nature. His appreciation for animals and the environment led him to apply to NorQuest College, where he graduated with honours and obtained an environmental technician diploma. Enjoying the outdoors also led him to his passion for fishing and all things freshwater. You will typically find him on the shore or in a boat with a rod in his hand! He has many indoor hobbies as well, including board games, puzzles, and video games. He also enjoys spending time with his wife, his dog Mipha, and all his extended dog family! Becoming a recreational water technician with ALMS fulfills a dream of working to keep our lakes fresh and beautiful for years to come! Justin is excited to be back for his second year as a Recreational Water Technician!
Evan Gesshe, Recreational Water Technician
Evan is a lifelong Edmonton resident who enjoys learning about and exploring Alberta’s outdoors. He became interested in the environment from a young age, influenced by annual camping trips and relatives in the environmental industry. Recently, he completed his B.Sc in ecology at the University of Alberta and is excited to continue gaining new experience. Evan has previously worked in agricultural research and conservation, diversifying his knowledge and providing him opportunities to travel. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, kayaking, and working on his old Toyota truck. Evan is looking forward to his first season as a Recreational Water Technician and contributing to water quality monitoring initiatives across the province.
View the provincial Safe Beach Protocol here.
Enterococcus and Cyanobacteria Training Videos:
ALMS/AHS Recreational Water Monitoring Webinar:
What has the monitoring results of the plan and of the indicators shown? Is there a need to modify the plan? It is important that the lake watershed management plan does not just sit on a shelf. Information gaps should be addressed, action items need to be managed, completed, and evaluated to best address the needs of the lake. Always keep in mind the vision: if the actions taken are not bringing the lake closer to that vision, then the plan needs to be modified. Consider updating both the state of the watershed and the lake watershed management plans at regular intervals to make sure that the actions taken were achieving the desired outcomes and to evaluate what work still needs to be done.
Reporting is an essential component of any watershed management planning and implementation process. There are two main types of reporting that should be shared with stakeholders on a regular basis: implementation reporting & effectiveness reporting.
The development of a lake watershed management plan provides the guidance needed to implement activities, but the plan cannot be static. Monitoring the performance of your management actions is essential to understanding whether your goals have been met, and whether further actions are needed. Monitoring and evaluating the implementation and effectiveness of a lake watershed management plan allows assessment of progress towards the goals and objectives of the plan, identification of problems and opportunities, and a collection of critical information required when performing a 5 or 10 year review of the plan.
Once a plan has been approved by all affected sectors and officially endorsed and released by the steering committee, then implementation can begin in full. Action projects can be large and comprehensive, or made smaller by staging projects over time or into modules that can be tackled one at a time. Fundraising is an issue that many community groups may find intimidating, but experience with programs such as the Pine Lake Restoration Program (see 
The members of the steering committee will continue to play a strong role in facilitating and tracking implementation actions. This includes any actions they were responsible for, as well as tracking other committees and sector’s actions and progress made towards achieving the plan’s outcomes. Ongoing communication is essential to successful implementation and achieving outcomes, therefore a regular reporting mechanism could be set up in order to provide regular evaluation of the plan.
There is no limit to the number or types of lake management actions, but they typically fall into the categories on the right.
This graphic describes how the various committees and groups will work and interact together. The circle size depicts the approximate number of people involved, and the circles overlapping indicates that some individuals may reside in all of the circles and participate in multiple committees as part of the planning process. The technical committee is shown as an arrow, indicating that it is independent and has relatively few people, and yet it interacts with all of the groups. This graphic may look different depending on the lake and the people involved, and a detailed structure should be agreed upon and described in the plan’s Terms of Reference (Step 6).
Helpful resources