The SSI FWC - Why Record?

Before the what to record... is the why record? Our SSIFWC project (the “view from 40,000’ " or for that ‘in-a-lift” discussion) is about…

• SSI freshwater community education and outreach, and encouraging watershed stewardship

• Science - principally informing water quantity (but, here and there, dipping our toes into water quality and "freshwater and other natural ecosystems health")

• Informing island “freshwater resource” planning and watershed protection

In a nutshell - our SSIFWC baseline field datasets aim to support/inform an improved understanding of the island’s freshwater "ecosystems health”, What we do a (not exhaustive) list:

• capture the locations and existence... of seasonal or perennial creeks (and wetlands),

• carry-out flow determinations to improve understanding of watershed recharge and discharge and their impacts on stream habitats etc

• measure chemistry to improve our understanding of freshwater components - rain water and groundwater (with hopefully no significant anthropogenic influences...)

and, importantly for our island, the work is intened to support developing models of groundwater recharge potential and areal water budgets, and how these may change with time...

A key deliverable of the FWC project, as a part of the "end game", is a (The) Freshwater Catalogue map.

Before Diving In (excuse the pun) and sampling, more context...

Two important questions to always ask before considering recording FWC data at a field location:

• Why would we want this information recorded for our project?

And...

• Is the site safe, representative and suitable to capture/inform answers to the following "why(s)"?

More detailed answers to "the why(s)" ideally requires a conversation around what is the FWC project about and detailed objectives may differ with island area! However, here are a few more details of the drivers for our freshwater catalogue field data acquisition:

• Education and outreach - increasing awareness of the island's freshwater, how it relates to our our watersheds, our natural ecosystems, and stewardship community building.

• Science - FWC datasets lead to an improved understanding of how our island's surface fresh water influences(controls) our ecosystems and the subsurface (groundwater), and ultimately to how much freshwater is available, for our natural ecosystems and for our community now and going forward...
  Information on uncharted creeks and waterbodies, the seasonal presence/absence of flow, surface waterbody creek recharge, the variability in flow related to surface run-off vs groundwater base flow, the proportion of our surface fresh water flowing to the sea and simple well chemistry(!), provide a framework to support improved freshwater modelling and perhaps its' management ("you cannot manage what you do not measure"...).

• Informing planning - understanding the variability in surface freshwater, and how this impacts the total freshwater resources on an island, is an important component of planning.
  

The recent SFU - FWC study work highlighted a need for more SSI well (groundwater) chemistry data to help with making the links between our island's surface freshwater and that from the subsurface - the subject of one of a series of future "groundwater and aquifers" Background Reading articles being developed.

Note: the whys being addressed by the FWC work are largely watershed-scale "big picture" and "local details" are largely out of scope for the FWC sampling that is in place/undertaken, though there are two or five... exceptions.

Some key considerations for FWC sampling at any given point on the island revolve around:

Is this a safe and representative site for monitoring - regular creek flow/chemistry, lake/pond water level etc. If "yes" consider...

• Is there any reason to think that the flow/chemistry below or above the selected point may be significantly different (eg additional stream coming in, something leaking into the culvert etc).
  If no then it is simply a question of where is safer, easier and repeatable (ideally year round...)

• Is the site being considered part likley to contribute to "the big picture", if yes continue - if unsure please contact the SSIFWC project lead for a discussion on the merits of the location (or otherwise!).

• If unsure on the above guidelines it's always possible to record a single measurement while you are there (see below) and then consider/discuss the value later.

What are we interested in (recording)?

We are collecting (recording) freshwater related field data (from creeks, lakes, wetlands and wells) for our island. Depending on your time/availability FWC field data collection can be as simple as gathering information to help answer some of the following questions:

• is it there (where)?

• is it flowing (or not...)?

or more intricate questions around:

• what is the flow/level (and how does it vary, seasonally and over time...)

• what is the variability in freshwater chemistry (and does this tell us anything about water quantity, groundwater or quality)?

All useful information!

What to Record & When - Using Our App

When using the SSIFWC Field App (while in the field, or when back at home), there there is a structure to the field data entry workflow (an in-built “decision tree”) in the App. Any App data entry is driven by the nature of the data being (or that was) collected; from a quick field location/feature (way)point, to a (first) full-blown and then regular field visit/recording session.
Note - all field recordings can be made in the App, on a smartphone,or via a web browser when at home, the exception is coordinate data. For accurate coordinates collect these when in the field (your smartphone has a built-in GPS, and this does not need a cell network ("data") to work)!

Depending on why you are "out there", use the following, simple FWC App questions (the decision tree) to help enter your FWC field data:

1. Are you a Walker, Hiker, Rambler ?

A "Yes"? to this data entry is designed to provide us with information on "new" locations that may merit further FWC work/follow-up. This option is for those who:

• Are in a hurry (ie hiking)

• Want to enter very basic data (the date, coordinates, water feature type, it's moving).

2. Are you doing Reconnaissance (Scouting)?

A "Yes" to reconnaissance data entry is for the first visit to a new site that is anticipated to be a future regular sampling site, subsequent visits to the same site become "Regular" (see 3. below). This option:

• Captures more detailed "contextual" site setting baseline data.

3. You are not a Hiker/Walker/Rambler and are measuring?

If you are a “regular” site visitor you will be presented with a reduced set of site context/setting and measurement questions, those that are relevant to repeat visits. These questions are influenced by what you are able to do at the site (it does vary, seasonally, by visit/time available etc). For example:

• Are you measuring just "Water quality" (typically Oakton chemistry), “Flow” or "Flow/Water Quality”?

• Is the flow data entry “qualitative” with a simple visual observation of water movement (still, slow, steady, fast) or "quantitative” (using more accurate flow measurement techniques).