The Gordon Foundation has launched the pilot phase of Mackenzie DataStream, an online platform to provide access to information about the quality of freshwater in the Mackenzie River Basin. The system was built to promote knowledge sharing and support collaboration and evidence-based decision-making throughout the Basin.
“This pilot project will make full water quality data as accessible as possible in useable formats. Now that Mackenzie DataStream is live, we look forward to receiving feedback on how people are using it,” said Carolyn Dubois, Program Manager at The Gordon Foundation. “We are actively seeking partnerships with communities and organizations involved in water monitoring who are interested in using Mackenzie Datastream.”
While Mackenzie DataStream is designed to incorporate a wide variety of datasets in future phases, the pilot focuses on datasets collected in partnership with communities in the Northwest Territories as part of the NWT-wide Community-Based Monitoring program. Through this program, community members collect water quality information to monitor, among other things, dissolved metals, turbidity, temperature, chlorophyll-a, as well as oil and gas chemicals (hydrocarbons).
The pilot will allow Mackenzie DataStream users to access, visualize, and download full water quality datasets collected by 21 communities at over 40 sites in the Northwest Territories.
Mackenzie DataStream will be introduced to partners during the annual Water Strategy Implementation workshop in November. During this pilot phase, project partners will seek input to guide improvements to Mackenzie DataStream. This phase is critical for understanding how the system is being used and how it can best meet community needs.
Mackenzie DataStream was funded by The Gordon Foundation and developed in close collaboration with the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Foundation’s key northern and technical partner for this project. This project has received ongoing input from Northwest Territories Water Strategy Water Partners with wide-ranging expertise.
