The McLeod River headwaters originate in the Rocky Mountains in west-central Alberta and join the Athabasca River near Whitecourt. Coal mining has occurred in the McLeod watershed since the 1970s and more recently, there has been both reclamation and expansion of mine sites in the upper basin. In this study, trends in surface water quality parameters in the McLeod River watershed were assessed over time to understand changes in water quality and associations with active mining and reclamation activity.