Rivière à la Loutre and Petite rivière Blanche in Témiscamingue – Screening for pollution sources
Fecal contamination in the Loutre River and the Little White River: the fault of the pigs?
The water quality of the Loutre River and the Petite rivière Blanche, in the Témiscamingue region, has seen a significant decline in recent years. Could this be due to the spreading of pig manure from the four nearby pig maternities? This is what the Témiscamingue Watershed Organization (OBVT) wanted to check by calling Fondation Rivières. A campaign to detect sources of pollution in this agricultural sector was carried out in order to determine the location and nature of contamination peaks.
Services
- Screening for main sources of pollution
- Helps establish the OBVT’s intervention priorities
- Characterization of the origin of fecal contamination
Partners and collaborators
- Témiscamingue watershed organization (OBVT)
- Polytechnique Montreal (CREDEAU)
- INRS (R. Villemur and R. Ragot)
- Nordikeau
- Vienna Water Monitoring
Methodology
The Fondation Rivières, in partnership with the National Institute of Scientific Research (INRS), carried out a hybrid analysis of field samples, using both traditional counting ofEscherichia coli (E.coli) and new rapid enzymatic analysis technology. The device used could quantify in less than 30 minutes the presence ofE.coli in a sample, which allowed people in the field to very quickly identify the places to investigate in depth. The samples with the greatest presence ofE.coli were analyzed in the laboratory with the qPCR technique to distinguish the nature of the fecal contamination (human, porcine or bovine source).
The 4 main stages
The field detection campaign for sources of pollution took place over four days in November 2020. An in-depth analysis of the results was carried out before submitting a report in the summer of 2021.
- November 7, 2020 – Start of field sampling and hybrid analyzes
- November 11, 2020 – End of the field campaign
- March 1, 2021 – Submission of qPCR analysis results (as part of a master’s project)
- June 15, 2021 – Publication of the final report on the pollution source screening project
Findings
01.
Significant fecal contamination was detected on the Loutre River, in the Fugèreville sector (which has a sewer network without a treatment plant).
02.
There were human markers present on nine sites and bovine markers on six sites, while there was only one site with porcine presence.