Recently surveyed lakes in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Canada: characteristics and critical loads of acidity

Based on minimal information, lakes in the western Canadian provinces of Manotoba (MB) and Saskatchewan (SK) have long been considered unaffected hi acid rain. However, emissions of acidifying pollutants from MB smelters and oil sand processing in Alberta (AB) may pose a developing threat. Surveys of 347 lakes located on geologically sensitive terrain in northern MB and SK were conducted to assess their acidification sensitivity and status. The survey domain (similar to 193,000 km(2)) contained 81,494 lakes >= 1 ha in area. Small lakes dominated the inventory hi terms of numbers, and large lakes dominated in terms of area. Surrey lakes were selected using a stratified-random sampling design in 10 sampling blocks within the overall survey domain. Few lakes had <6. and only three (all in SK) were acidic. i.e., Gran Alkalinity (Alk) <0 mu e gL(-1). A broad range in lake sensitivity was apparent, and very sensitive lakes (low specific conductance, base cations and AA) were present Hi all sampling blocks. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was an important constituent of many lakes. Critical loads (CL) of acidity calculated using the Steady-State Water Chemistry model (SSWC) revealed extremely low 5th percentile values for every block (range 1.9 to 52.7 eq ha(-1)). Block CL exceedances calculated using estimated S and N deposition for 2002 ranged from 54.5 to 909 eq ha(-1) y(-1). The largest exceedances were for sampling blocks located near smelter sources or downwind oldie oil sands Lake chemistry revealed hi Our surveys was compared to others conducted both nearby and outside Canada.