Living Lakes Canada is a charitable water stewardship non-government organisation with over 20 years of experience working with community groups to protect freshwater. Their science-based programs are aligned with Canadian Provincial and Federal monitoring protocols and range from groundwater, lake, stream, and wetland monitoring to foreshore health assessments, biomonitoring for aquatic assessment and restoration, and water database development and management. They also offer water monitoring training courses to support community-based stewardship efforts across Canada and have delivered numerous educational programs targeting both youth and adults to promote water literacy and encourage a water conservation ethic.
Their community-based water monitoring work originated in the Canadian Columbia Basin, the drainage basin of the Columbia River located in British Columbia, and it has expanded to include partnerships with hundreds of organisations, including industry, First Nations groups, academia, government technology and scientific consultants, water stewardship groups and other non-profit societies both nationally and internationally.
Living Lakes Canada has received numerous awards of note, and the organisation’s successful leadership and stewardship templates have supported the creation of other grassroots water stewardship initiatives across Canada.
The Columbia Basin Water Hub is the open data portal developed by Living Lakes Canada for freshwater data within the Columbia Basin, in response to the need for a more coordinated water monitoring effort in the region.
This need was identified in a 2017 report released by the Columbia Basin Trust that examined the status of water monitoring and climate change in the Columbia Basin. The report highlighted significant water data gaps and the need for more coordinated monitoring as well as ‘streamlined archival and retrieval technologies’ for water data. The findings prompted Living Lakes Canada to organise and co-host a conference, An Open Source Data Dialogue Towards a Columbia Basin Water Monitoring Framework, in late 2017. Attended by 120 water and data experts from across Canada and the northwest states, it was the catalyst for the development of both the Columbia Basin Water Monitoring Framework and the Columbia Basin Water Hub.
A multitude of local community groups conduct water monitoring in the Columbia Basin but historically there was a lack of streamlined archival and retrieval technologies for the data they collected. Information was being held on private devices or kept within individual organizations, limiting collaboration, visibility, and broader application. A solution was needed to make data freely accessible and usable. The Columbia Basin Water Hub is designed to improve collaboration around water quantity and quality monitoring by helping the various stakeholders store, manage and share their data appropriately and effectively.
Living Lakes Canada discovered Link Digital through a research process, where they recognised the company’s expertise in Comprehensive Knowledge Archive Network (CKAN) and chose it as the developer and partner for the Columbia Basin Water Hub.
Living Lakes Canada took on the role of project facilitator, overseeing community engagement and project planning with the active participation of five First Nations governments and the province of British Columbia. By using their expertise to bridge the communication gap between the organisations, Living Lakes Canada has ensured a more effective and efficient project. They also provided invaluable insights and documentation on engaging contributors and the ongoing management of community-based water databases.
Link Digital dealt with the technical aspects of the project. This meant deploying a CKAN instance with a structure that resembled Living Lakes Canada’s existing database and incorporating customised features such as enhanced access and controls to maximise data sovereignty and adhere to OCAP® (Ownership, Control, Access, Possession) principles. Link Digital’s prior experience in CKAN projects requiring advanced security and access control made it a pivotal partner for the initiative. Link Digital has also been involved in ongoing support, maintenance, and customised solutions to address the unique needs of the Columbia Basin Water Hub.
The joint efforts of Living Lakes Canada and Link Digital in developing the Columbia Water Basin Hub serve as an inspiring example of how open data can contribute to environmental conservation and community empowerment.
Additionally, the Columbia Basin Water Hub now hosts over 400 datasets from 50+ contributors and its functions are integrated with other databases, including the Canadian Watershed Information Network (CanWIN) and Pacific DataStream. In doing so, the Columbia Basin Water Hub has facilitated greatly improved accessibility to what was once inaccessible data and has become instrumental in improved decision-making processes while showcasing the tangible impact of the greater collaboration between organisations involved in water monitoring.
“Living Lakes Canada has been impressed with Link Digital’s high standard of work and their collaborative approach to problem-solving,” said Maggie Finkle-Aucoin, GIS and Database Manager for Living Lakes Canada. “The hands-on approach by Link Digital product owners has contributed to a positive working relationship.”
Plans are already underway for Living Lakes Canada, including managed hosting, an Ask AI integration, and a CKAN 2.11 upgrade. Alongside this, efforts are underway to expand nationally, creating a home for community water data across the country and elevating projects of importance through greater visibility and shared access. The aim is to create a network of regional databases that function individually while serving to centralise water-related data. Another focus is improving interoperability with other organisations involved in water monitoring and the stewardship of rivers across Canada.
Using the Columbia Basin Water Hub as a template, Living Lakes Canada can guide organisations through the process of developing similar hubs in collaboration with Link Digital to ensure smooth implementation.
Link Digital is ready to start a dialogue with you and your team on your open data needs. Contact us and tell us about your project.
