Une amélioration rentable pour le réseau canadien de surveillance environnementale : la surveillance communautaire de l’eau

This policy brief argues that Community-Based Water Monitoring (CBWM) is a cost-effective and scientifically rigorous method for collecting long-term water quality data across Canadian watersheds. It advocates for a shift from short-term competitive grants to long-term core funding to prevent the loss of technical capacity and the creation of 'dark data' that cannot be used for policy decisions.

• Community-Based Water Monitoring (CBWM) is presented as a cost-effective strategy for watershed-scale water quality data collection, offering a return on investment greater than 3:1.
• Canada faces significant gaps in water monitoring; according to WWF-Canada (2020), 100 out of 167 watersheds are so poorly understood that no health score can be assigned to them. Additionally, the number of streamflow gauging stations has decreased over the last 30 years, with some regions failing to meet World Meteorological Organization guidelines for hydrometric station density since the 1980s.
• The current funding model for CBWM organizations relies on competitive grants with 2-to-3-year cycles, which is deemed incompatible with the needs of long-term monitoring. This has led to reductions in data analysis and dissemination, and risks the closure of organizations that depend solely on project-based funding.
• The document recommends the establishment of a five-year pilot project providing core funding to established CBWM organizations. It suggests that the Canadian Water Agency could coordinate this horizontal initiative to improve data interoperability and reduce redundancy across federal, provincial/territorial, and local levels.
• Failure to invest in long-term monitoring could lead to severe economic and social consequences, including regions becoming uninsurable due to a lack of hydrometric data for actuarial models, and Canadian companies struggling to attract investment due to negative or unknown ESG (environmental, social, and governance) scores.

APA

Gunn, G. (2021). Une amélioration rentable pour le réseau canadien de surveillance environnementale : la surveillance communautaire de l’eau. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-01/investment-canadian-community-based-water-monitoring-brief-fr.pdf

Chicago

Gunn, Geoffrey. Une amélioration rentable pour le réseau canadien de surveillance environnementale : la surveillance communautaire de l’eau. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2021. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-01/investment-canadian-community-based-water-monitoring-brief-fr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gunn |first1=Geoffrey |title=Une amélioration rentable pour le réseau canadien de surveillance environnementale : la surveillance communautaire de l’eau |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=November 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-01/investment-canadian-community-based-water-monitoring-brief-fr.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gunn2021une, author = {Gunn, Geoffrey}, title = {{Une amélioration rentable pour le réseau canadien de surveillance environnementale : la surveillance communautaire de l’eau}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-01/investment-canadian-community-based-water-monitoring-brief-fr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }