The Fort Air Partnership Airshed is approximately 4,500 square kilometers in size. It includes Elk Island Park and the communities of: Fort Saskatchewan, Gibbons, Bon Accord, Bruderheim, Lamont, Redwater, Waskatenau, and Thorhild. Highway 834 is the eastern boundary. The southern boundary follows highway 16 to the Edmonton city limits. The western boundary follows the city limits north and west to 97 Street/Highway 28 and then goes straight north along that road. The northern boundary runs through the town of Newbrook, approximately 20 kilometres north of the Town of Redwater.
Airshed Boundaries
In February 1999, the Fort Air Partnership’s Technical Working Group recommended boundaries for the airshed region. Their recommendation was based on these major considerations:
- Existing emissions data and air quality monitoring data
- the potential effects of air pollution on human/animal health, and related air quality modeling results,
- the proximity of Elk Island National Park, and
- the proximity of Edmonton as a pollution source.
Since the intent was to establish boundaries based on the influence of sources within the Fort Saskatchewan region, emissions from the City of Edmonton were not included in the dispersion modeling.