Canadian Council of Ministers
of the Environment

Le Conseil canadien des ministres
de l'environnement

There are currently issues with the Summary Table's download to excel function. We are working on resolving the issue. Our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.
Bookmark this page Download Excel spreadsheet Download PDF

Ammonia (total)


Parameter 1: INORGANIC
Parameter 2: Inorganic nitrogen compounds

Water Quality for the Protection of Aquatic Life

Further documentation on these guidelines can be found in the Canadian Environment Quality Guidelines.
Download Factsheet

Freshwater

Concentration (µg/L)

Table

Water quality guidelines for total ammonia for the protection of aquatic life (mg/L NH3).



    pH
  6.0 6.5 7.0 7.5 8.0 8.5 9.0 10.0
Temp
(oC)
0 231 73.0 23.1 7.32 2.33 0.749 0.25 0.042
5 153 48.3 15.3 4.84 1.54 0.502 0.172 0.034
10 102 32.4 10.3 3.26 1.04 0.343 0.121 0.029
15 69.7 22.0 6.98 2.22 0.715 0.239 0.089 0.026
20 48.0 15.2 4.82 1.54 0.499 0.171 0.067 0.024
25 33.5 10.6 3.37 1.08 0.354 0.125 0.053 0.022
30 23.7 7.50 2.39 0.767 0.256 0.094 0.043 0.021

Note: Measurements of total ammonia in the aquatic environment are often expressed as mg/L total ammonia-N. The present guideline values (mg/L NH3) can be converted to mg/L total ammonia-N by multiplying the corresponding guideline value by 0.8224. Values falling outside of shaded area should be used with caution. Consult the factsheet for more details. No recommended guideline for marine waters.

Date

2001

Marine

Concentration (µg/L)

No data

Date

No data

Water Quality for the Protection of Agriculture

Irrigation

Concentration (µg/L)

No data

Date

No data

Livestock

Concentration (µg/L)

No data

Date

No data

Sediment Quality for the Protection of Aquatic Life

Freshwater

Concentration (µg/kg dry weight) - ISQG

No data

Concentration (µg/kg dry weight) - PEL

No data

Date

No data

Marine

Concentration (µg/kg dry weight) - ISQG

No data

Concentration (µg/kg dry weight) - PEL

No data

Date

No data

Soil Quality for the Protection of Environmental and Human Health

Concentration (mg/kg dry weight) - Agricultural

No data

Concentration (mg/kg dry weight) - Residential / parkland

No data

Concentration (mg/kg dry weight) - Commercial

No data

Concentration (mg/kg dry weight) - Industrial

No data

Date

No data

Tissue Residue Quality for the Protection of Widlife Consumer of Aquatic Biota

Concentration (µg/kg diet wet weight)

No data

Date

No data