What is the air quality today in Cochrane? Is there anything to be concerned about for our children, seniors or those with respiratory issues?

For the next six months, you won't have to guess, thanks to an initiative of the Calgary Region Air Zone (CRAZ) with the support of Alberta Environment and other stakeholders.

Regularly updated reports on the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) in Cochrane are now available online at craz.ca or through the free AQHI Canada phone app.

When visiting the craz.ca, website you'll find AQHI ratings on the left-hand side left from Calgary. Airdrie and Cochrane. Click on the word "Cochrane" to obtain the local information. The site also offers further information on air quality. The app recognizes your location and if you're in Cochrane immediately gives you the local index.

Representatives of CRAZ, Alberta Environment and other stakeholders, including Spray Lake Sawmills and the Town of Cochrane attended a kickoff open house last week to gain insight on this new initiative and were able to take a peek at the monitoring equipment.

CRAZ has deployed a portable monitoring station (PAML) that will rotate between communities in the greater Calgary area. Cochrane is the first to benefit from the monitoring. The PAML will be located here until March before being deployed elsewhere. It returns in April 2020 for another six months so they have data from a full calendar year.

Air quality in High River, Okotoks, Chestermere and Strathmore will also be monitored as part of the program.

Explains Mandeep Dhaliwal, CRAZ air quality program manager, the portable monitoring station measures nitrogen dioxide, fine particulate matter and ground-level ozone to determine the AQHI. Daily base tests assure the information is being accurately measured.

Currently, you see the AQHI for Cochrane but more details should be available on the website in real time by the end of December.

CRAZ chair David Lawlor says the project will provide a valuable regional perspective of air quality, something that has been lacking.

"You can do modeling that says you don’t think there’s going to be an issue, but it’s good to get confirmation and that what this type of program will provide," says Lawlor.

Bob Myrick, director of Airshed Services, EM&S Division of Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP), says AEP paid for two of the three monitoring instruments and provided $120,000spread over three years to operate the PAML so active monitoring can take place.

He believes valuable insight will be provided by this CRAZ initiative about the airshed in the communities surrounding Calgary that have not only seen tremendous growth but have heavily used traffic corridors and some industry,

"There’s a lot of benefits to working with a multi-stakeholder organization in that you can get input from the public directly into the organization. The stakeholders actually have input into how air quality is monitored and managed within the community," says Myrick.

AEP is experimenting with other smaller and more affordable monitoring stations that could be deployed in multiple locations. Some are the size of a breadbox, thanks to advancements in technology.

"They’ve been used elsewhere in the world and we want to test them in a cold climate situation and see how good the data is and eventually implement that type of monitor as well. If it turns out that that data from these monitoring units are fairly reliable we should be able to start implementing them in more locations."

"So we’re really looking forward to using alternative monitoring technology."

The PAML located in Cochrane cost about $250,000 to develop plus operating costs. Some smaller units are a half, even a tenth of the cost, depending on what you are monitoring, says Myrick.

Previous to this, a more passive approach was instituted using "pucks" to provide a monthly average..

By the way, the AQHI has been regularly sitting at 2 to 3 this week and that means the airshed is ideal for outdoor activities.

The higher the number on the AQHI, the greater the risk for youngsters, seniors and those with respiratory-related health issues. It's considered to hold moderate risk when the AQHI reaches 4 to 6, a high risk from 7 to 10 and when it climbs above 10 it's best to stay indoors and take it easy.

You'll notice a difference when smoke floats through town from wildfires as it did excessively last summer or during temperature inversions prone to occur in February and March.

CRAZ public engagement

Public engagement and education are important to CRAZ. Through their programs, they want to inform people of what the data means, why we should care, what air quality means to human health as well as provide an explanation of the AQHI and what actions we can take to care for our air.

Executive director Jill Bloor says those wanting information are welcome to visit CRAZ at craz.ca. They also welcome inquiries from schools for PAML tours or classroom presentations.

"We're definitely open to that. We love going to schools and talking about air quality."