By fall, Ottawa will be able to make planning decisions based on the detailed location of air pollution within its neighbourhoods.

The 15-month National Capital Air Quality Mapping project launched Monday will help pinpoint areas where pollution is a problem and figure out what is causing it, said Nancy Schepers, the city's deputy manager in charge of planning, transit and the environment.

Nancy Schepers (right) shows Coun. Clive Doucet a small air monitor inside one of the mobile monitoring stations that will be used for the mapping project.
(CBC)

Once the map is in place, the city will be able to look at whether it can make changes to reduce the pollution in affected areas, she said.

A satellite monitoring system, two monitoring systems on the ground, three mobile testing units and 100 small sensors placed on buildings and streetlight poles will all take air pollution measurements. The data will be used to produce a complete map by next fall showing levels of various pollutants in each square kilometre of the city.

It will be used in future planning decisions, said Clive Doucet, a Capital Ward councillor.

"We'll be able to tell you what the quality of the air is in your neighbourhood, and that's key to saying: Do you want another highway there? Or do you want say electric diesel or a bio-diesel transitway?"

The city is committing two staff and $10,000 to the project. The remainder of the costs are being covered by Natural Resources Canada's GeoConnections program, Environment Canada, Transport Canada, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and the Ottawa International Airport.