Get notified when the reports go live, Plus, join us at our official launch in March 2025!

Watershed Report

How's it flowing?

Canada's vast network of rivers and lakes forms the lifeblood of its people, wildlife, and ecosystems, providing essential resources and nurturing the land.

See a preview of what's coming in March 2025

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At a national scale, we lack a clear understanding of the health of our rivers and watersheds, and accessing that information is a challenge. Our team is immersed in analyzing millions of data points to provide you with crucial insights.

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What are the Watershed Reports?

The Watershed Reports are the first national-scale assessment of the state of freshwater in Canada. It includes data collected by governments researchers and community-based monitoring groups. The first two editions were published in 2017-2020 by WWF-Canada. Water Rangers will be publishing the third edition in the Spring of 2025.

The Watershed Reports are a collaborative effort. We would love you to be part of their development! Give us your opinions about Canada's freshwater, open data and Watershed Reports.

Dive deeper...

My hope is that the wider public realizes what a finite resource fresh water is and they incorporate a holistic / First Nations mindset: all our actions are connected and our lives depend on the health of our planet. Water is for everyone and needs to be responsibly looked after by all.

One of the responses from the survey. A full sentiment report will be published alongside the data-driven version
  • 60000000+

    Datapoints crunched (so far)
  • 8500+

    Named rivers and streams
  • 167+

    Subwatersheds analyzed

What to expect from the Watershed Reports

The Reports are a zoomed-out way to understand water health. Health is assessed on:

  • Water quality
  • Water flow
  • Invertebrates
  • Fish

These Reports will also highlight examples of progress being made, tools on using the reports effectively, plus pathways for organizations and individuals to be part of progress.

Distribution of datasets (%)

It's not just the Reports!

Beyond our technical reports, we're also curating tools for you, such as:

  • Guides and examples on how to use the Reports
  • Data sources with links to data providers
  • Standard Guidelines (e.g. Water Quality CCME, Provincial)
  • Inspirational case studies
  • Educational resources
  • Guide for ensuring high data quality
  • Data and good open data practices
  • Guide on contributing to the Reports
  • The "Business Case" toolkit for water data programs

Get notified when the reports go live. Plus, join us at our official launch in March 2025!