Lacombe Stormwater Pond Dataset

Stormwater ponds are artificial structures that are critical components of stormwater management systems in many Canadian cities. They serve to prevent flooding of urban areas during excess rainfall. Stormwater ponds also contribute to environmental health by allowing the settlement of dirt and solids from stormwater to the bottom of the pond. As a result, the sediments of stormwater ponds can become enriched with potentially harmful contaminants. The health risks posed to anglers by contact with stormwater and sediments and consumption of fish from stormwater ponds are not well characterized. The City of Lacombe (Alberta) is a municipality with two stormwater ponds stocked with sterile fish for angling. Alberta Health collected water, sediment and fish from these two ponds over two seasons (fall 2010 and spring 2011) and analyzed the samples for a suite of contaminants. Water samples were collected from three sites at each pond and three depths for each site (n=40; nine samples plus one replicate sample per pond per season). Sediment samples were collected from the same three sites at each pond (n=12; three samples per pond per season). Fish samples (rainbow trout) were collected in fall 2010 (n=18; eight from East Pond and ten from Len Thompson Pond). For the contaminant analysis, all samples (water, sediment and fish) were tested for parent and alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Additionally, water samples were tested for routine chemicals, trace metals, pesticides and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and fish muscle tissue was tested for total mercury.