News
Water samples from Lac Pelletier show no impacts from intensive livestock operation
Today, the Water Security Agency (WSA) released water quality sampling results from the Lac Pelletier Regional Park area.
The testing showed no impacts or contamination from an intensive livestock operation (ILO) located nearby. All water quality results came back to suggest this was a typical prairie runoff at this time of year.
On March 23, 2026, WSA staff responded to a concern reported to the Spill Control Centre about a feedlot potentially contaminating the lake located in Lac Pelletier Regional Park. A site inspection confirmed there was no evidence of a spill.
In addition to the site investigation and downstream water quality sampling, runoff from the ILO area was assessed through ground-based inspection and by aerial drone surveys.
Water sampling looked at several aspects, including:
- E coli – a form of bacteria which has implications to human health if consumed.
- E coli was not detected; ILO waste would be high in E coli.
- Total Coliforms (TC) – indicate bacterial presence in water.
- TC was low; ILO waste would be high in TC.
- Nitrogen
- Total nitrogen was low; ILO waste would be high in nitrogen.
- Total Suspended Solids – inorganic and organic particles that remain suspended in water.
- Total Suspended Solids levels were low; ILO waste would have higher Total Suspended Solids.
- Organic carbon
- The level of organic carbon was very low for prairie streams; ILO waste would have high levels of organic carbon.
- Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) – determines how much oxygen is used by microbes in water
- BOD was low; ILO waste would have tested much higher.
All evidence suggests there is no contamination from the ILO as many parameters like E coli, nitrogen, BOD, and total suspended solids were low or within what would be considered a normal runoff for the area at this time of year. Click here to view the complete testing results.
In 2025, WSA resumed water quality monitoring at Lac Pelletier Regional Park as part of the surface water quality monitoring program. Water quality sampling is being completed three times per year in the open water season for the next two years. This site also has historical data collected between 2004 and 2007.
For more information, contact:
WSA Communications
comm@wsask.ca
1.866.727.5420