SAYAH, SAIDE - 1999

A Cumulative Effect Assessment of the Petite Riviere Watershed

The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate within a geographic paradigm cumulative effects from land uses affecting water quality in the Petite Riviere Watershed. A DRASTIC vulnerability map was created for the watershed and a land use analysis conducted. The Watershed was divided into sub-basins jand a numerical cumulative score assigned to each basin. The major land uses affecting each sub-basin were identified and evaluated using the hydrogeologic setting produced by the DRASTIC acquifer vulnerability index. The most significant land uses and activities affecting the water quality of the Petite Riviere were residential areas, followed by extractive activities such as forestry, and gravel and slate mining.