Approved Water Quality Guidelines
Approved water quality guidelines are policy statements and applied generically province wide, providing the basis for ambient water quality assessments and to inform resource management decisions in B.C.
Ambient water quality guidelines are used to:
- protect water values, including: aquatic life, wildlife and their habitats, drinking water sources, agriculture (livestock watering and irrigation); and recreation;
- provide the basis for the evaluation of ambient water quality and environmental impact assessments to inform resource management decisions (e.g., wastewater discharge limits);
- provide the basis for water quality objectives; and
- report to the public on the state of water quality and promote water stewardship.
View the water quality guidelines fact sheet or water quality guidelines policy for more information.
Guideline Tools
An online application to easily look-up BC water quality guidelines for aquatic life, wildlife, agriculture, drinking water sources and recreation.
Access all BC approved and working water quality guidelines as a .csv file in the BC Data Catalogue.
View the most recent updates to BC water quality guidelines.
- Guideline Update Table (PDF)
Guideline Summaries
- View the Summary of Water Quality Guidelines: Aquatic Life, Wildlife & Agriculture (PDF)
- View the Summary of Water Quality Guidelines: Drinking Water Sources (PDF)
- View the Summary of Water Quality Guidelines: Recreation (PDF)
Guideline Overview and Technical Reports
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Technical Report (PDF)
- Appendix 1 (PDF)
- Appendix 2 (PDF)
- Cadmium User’s Guide (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
Calculate a copper guideline using the BC Biotic Ligand Model Software
- BC BLM Software (exe, 5 MB)
- BC BLM User's Manual (PDF, 1.7 MB)
Water quality guideline documents
- User's Guide (PDF)
- Technical Report (PDF, 1.8 MB)
- Appendix 1 (xls)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Technical Report (PDF, 1.4 MB)
- Appendix 1 (xls)
- Appendix 2 (xls)
- Appendix 3 (xls)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Ammonia (Marine) Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Addendum to Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Addendum (March 2014) (PDF)
- Addendum (August 2017) (PDF)
- Technical Report (PDF)
- Companion Document (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Technical appendix (PDF)
- Appendix A (PDF)
- Appendix B Kennedy Report (PDF)
- Appendix B-1 (PDF)
- Appendix B-2 (PDF)
- Appendix B-3 (PDF)
- Appendix C (PDF)
- Appendix D (PDF)
- Appendix E (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Overview Report (PDF)
- Technical Appendix (PDF)