This systematic review examines peer-reviewed literature (2014–2024) on aquatic health research in Alberta’s Bow River Basin to assess the inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge and collaboration in Western scientific studies. Despite growing recognition of the value of Indigenous ways of knowing, such as holistic stewardship and place-based practices, our analysis of 69 regional publications reveals minimal meaningful co-creation with Indigenous communities. Most studies relied on disciplinarily siloed, quantitative endpoints (e.g., water quantity modelling), with only one study explicitly co-developing research methods and outcomes with Indigenous partners (Siksika Nation). A parallel review of National Sciences and Engineering and Research Council grants (2020–2024) showed relative increases in approvals for community-based research, yet corresponding peer-reviewed outputs remain scarce. This disparity highlights some potential systemic barriers to meaningful collaboration, such as rigid academic timelines and tokenistic “integration” of Indigenous Knowledge. Key recommendations include mandatory Indigenous data stewardship training, flexible funding structures to support relationship-building, and recognition of nontraditional research deliverables. The findings underscore the urgent need for equitable partnerships that center Indigenous voices from project inception to dissemination, ensuring culturally relevant and sustainable water management in the Bow River Basin and more broadly.

Municipal wastewater effluent (MWWE) is a common source of nutrient enrichment and provides a route for emerging substances of concern (ESOCs) to enter aquatic systems. Community composition and abundance metrics of benthic macroinvertebrates are commonly utilized to assess ecological impacts associated with nutrient enrichment; however, the responses of these metrics in systems with diverse chemical mixtures from MWWE, are not well understood. This study specifically addresses the effects of cumulative loading of tertiary-treated MWWE through responses in benthic macroinvertebrate communities in experimental control and treatment streams. Treatment streams used source river water previously exposed to upstream wastewater treatment plants but with an additional 5% by volume tertiarily treated MWWE, while control streams used only source river water. Surbers and artificial substrate rock baskets were used to examine impacts on both established and colonizing benthic communities, respectively. No significant differences were observed between the control and treatment streams in any of the community metrics of well-established benthic communities. In contrast, significant decreases in colonizing taxon diversity and evenness were found between treatment and control streams. The dominant taxa (most abundant family, by percentage of sample) in the community, often filter feeders, significantly increased in percentage of the total community in treatment streams. This response was consistent with a nutrient enrichment effect, with no evidence of ESOC related toxicity. This study highlights the need for bioassessment programs to utilize approaches involving varied in-situ sampling methods and controlled exposure systems to gain a better understanding of how various stages of community-level development are impacted by urban pollutants such as MWWE.