Water quality in Canada: validation, interpretation, and mobilization of community-based water monitoring

虽然准确和相关的数据是淡水管理中循证决策的基石，但在加拿大分散的监测网络中，确保这些数据的准确性和相关性仍然是一个挑战。作出健全的管理决策需要广泛的利益攸关方之间的有效沟通和合作，包括来自学术界、政府和非政府组织以及地方社区团体的利益攸关方，但他们之间往往很少协调和沟通。我们提议建立的联盟将有助于连接目前在这个国家运作的这些不同的水管理员。我们提出的研究将为社区提供一种简单的方式来众包水质数据，这将改变公民对水的理解，以及他们参与水管理的能力。克里·芬利博士（里贾纳大学）、水巡游者和加拿大环境与气候变化部门之间拟议的伙伴关系旨在通过提高学术界和政府官员对CBWM的合法性和有效性，解决与可持续和有意义的CBWM相关的挑战。我们的目标是为加拿大各地的水检测项目建立长期可持续性的基础，以萨斯喀彻温省为例进行研究，萨斯喀彻温省是一个经常出现娱乐用水质量问题的省份。我们将重点关注：(1)验证、改进和合法化可以实时提供结果的廉价工具；(2)构建人工智能工具，使用可获得、负担得起的测试来帮助回答有关水质的重要问题；(3)使所有利益相关者（社区、非政府组织、政府和学术界）参与的社区主导的数据管理成为可能。

While accurate and relevant data are the cornerstone for evidence-based decision making in freshwater management, ensuring the accuracy and relevance of these data remains a challenge in Canada's fragmented monitoring networks. Making sound management decisions requires effective communication and collaboration among a wide range of stakeholders, including those from academia, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and local community groups, yet there is often little coordination and communication among them. The Alliance we propose to build will serve to connect these diverse water stewards presently operating in this country. Our proposed research will provide communities with a simple way to crowdsource water quality data that will transform citizens' understandings of their water, as well as their ability to participate in water stewardship. The proposed partnership between Dr. Kerri Finlay (U Regina), Water Rangers, and Environment and Climate Change Canada will aim to address challenges associated with sustainable and meaningful CBWM by improving its legitimacy and validity for academics and government officials. We aim to establish the basis for long-term sustainability in water testing programs across Canada, using Saskatchewan, a province with frequent recreational water quality concerns, as our case study. We will focus on: (1) validating, improving, and legitimizing inexpensive tools that can provide results in real-time; (2) building artificial intelligence tools that use accessible, affordable tests to help answer important questions about water quality; and (3) enabling community-led data management that engages all stakeholders (Community, Non-Governmental, Government, and Academic).