Climatic changes and intensive agriculture bring into question the sustainability of Canada's food production while jeopardizing the health of the freshwater ecosystems on which we all rely. _x000D_ To address these challenges, watershed managers in the Canadian Prairies have access to more raw data than ever, thanks to collaborations between citizen scientists, governments, academic institutions, private industry, and environmental non-profits. In addition, there is a growing number of modeling tools available to interpret these data. However, applying and optimizing these models can be time-consuming and computationally demanding, such that decision-ready data remains unavailable to many stakeholders. _x000D_ The Prairie Watershed Analytics (PWA) project is addressing this challenge by developing a free, open, and automated protocol for fast and easy deployment of hydrologic models specially tailored to prairie watersheds. Prioritizing access and usability, PWA leverages public hydrological datasets, open-source software, and widely available phosphorus data collected by organizations like the Lake Winnipeg Foundation. Using machine learning techniques, the project helps users to understand the hydrology of their local watershed, along with nutrient sources and sinks. _x000D_ This modeling method is designed to be replicated to watersheds across the prairies at low cost. The PWA project seeks to elevate collaborative decision-making processes, offering insights to support agricultural water stewardship programs, forecasting climate scenarios, and informing long-term watershed planning.
