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River enthusiasts want to see more perfect swimming days on Edmonton’s North Saskatchewan River and hope a new multimillion-dollar river monitoring program might help.

It’s being funded by a 10- to 15-cent monthly environment charge on residential water bills to create a $1-million annual fund and is supported by staff time, equipment and other in-kind support from Alberta Environment worth up to $2 million.

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Currently, the river is normally clean enough to swim in anytime the water is clear, because it’s the heavy rainstorms that both increase the brown silt and wash pollutants down from the fields and roads, said Epcor’s watershed expert Steph Neufeld. But a lack of monitoring means when that load of pollutants, ammonia or silt increases in the river, no one can say exactly where it’s coming from.

It might be increased forestry on a tributary like the Clearwater River or Cline River, or new residential construction around an upstream town. This monitoring program should finally be able to pinpoint those changes. It will also help Epcor anticipate water quality in the future and know what new infrastructure might be needed.