Accessibility Statement
This statement outlines the commitment of Great Lakes Water Lab to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities. We believe that information about our freshwater ecosystems—the lifeblood of our region—should be available to everyone, without barriers. This is version 3.1, last updated March 15, 2026.
1. Our Commitment & Standards
Great Lakes Water Lab is committed to making its website accessible in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) and strives to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at Level AA
These guidelines explain how to make web content more accessible for people with a wide range of disabilities—including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities. Conformance means that our content is perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. For instance, can a user navigate our lake depth charts using only a keyboard? Can a screen reader accurately describe the pH level trends in our graphs? We're working to ensure the answer is "yes."
Our efforts are ongoing. We integrate accessibility considerations into our design, development, and content creation workflows from the very beginning—not as an afterthought. We've allocated over 1,200 development hours in the past fiscal year specifically to accessibility improvements, resulting in a 98.3% pass rate on automated core checks for our main site templates.
2. Measures We've Taken
So, what have we actually done? Here’s a non-exhaustive list of the technical and design measures implemented across GreatLakesWaterLab.com:
- Keyboard Navigation: All interactive elements—menus, buttons, form fields, data tables—can be accessed and used with a keyboard alone. Focus indicators are clearly visible.
- Screen Reader Optimization: We use semantic HTML5 markup, ARIA landmarks, and descriptive labels for interactive elements. Complex visualizations, like our seasonal algae bloom maps, include detailed text summaries.
- Text Alternatives: Every non-decorative image has descriptive alt text. Charts and infographics have long descriptions or data tables available. Videos (like our sampling tutorials) include captions and transcripts.
- Color & Contrast: Text has a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 against its background. We do not use color as the sole means of conveying information (e.g., "the red areas indicate high toxicity").
- Resizable Text: Text can be resized up to 200% using browser zoom controls without loss of content or functionality. Our layouts are designed to be responsive and fluid.
- Forms & Input Assistance: Form fields have associated labels and clear error identification. We provide suggestions for correction—think of it as helping someone correctly input a water sample ID number.
3. Known Limitations & Third-Party Content
Despite our best efforts, some areas of the website may have limitations. We are continuously auditing and improving. Currently known areas for improvement include:
- Historical Document Archives: Some older PDF reports (published prior to 2018) are scanned images without proper text layers or tags. We are in the process of remediating these, prioritizing the most requested documents first—about 1,247 files remain.
- Interactive Data Tools: A few legacy interactive mapping tools (mainly in the "Lakes Database") may have complex interactions that are not fully optimized for some assistive technologies. We provide alternative data access methods (CSV download) where possible.
- Third-Party Widgets: We occasionally embed content from trusted scientific partners or use widgets for specific functions (e.g., a live weather feed). We vet these for basic accessibility, but ultimate control lies with the third party.
We view these not as excuses, but as a public roadmap. If an inaccessible element is critical to your use of the site, please contact us—we will work to provide you the information in an alternative, accessible format.
4. Your Feedback & How to Report Issues
Your experience is the most important metric. We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of GreatLakesWaterLab.com. If you encounter any barriers or have suggestions for improvement:
Please contact our Accessibility Coordinator. Be as specific as possible: provide the web address (URL) of the page, describe the problem, and let us know what assistive technology you were using (e.g., JAWS 2023, NVDA, ZoomText, Dragon).
Contact for Accessibility Issues:
Email: accessibility@GreatLakesWaterLab.com
Phone: +1 416 555 4829 (Ask for the Accessibility Coordinator)
Postal Mail: Accessibility Coordinator, Great Lakes Water Lab, 100 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5J 1V6, Canada
We aim to acknowledge your contact within 2 business days and provide a substantive response within 10 business days. We are committed to resolving the issue and will keep you informed of our progress.
5. Compatibility & Assistive Technologies
Our website is designed to be compatible with a wide range of assistive technologies and recent versions of major browsers. The site has been tested with:
Screen Readers
JAWS with Chrome and Firefox, NVDA with Firefox, VoiceOver with Safari on macOS and iOS.
Browser & OS Combinations
Recent versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android.
We also support and respect user stylesheets and browser extensions that modify page appearance. Our CSS uses relative units (ems, rems, percentages) to allow for user-controlled zoom and text scaling. If you rely on a specific technology not listed here and encounter problems, please let us know—your setup helps us improve.
6. Formal Complaints & Enforcement Procedure
If you are not satisfied with our response to your accessibility feedback, you may wish to initiate a formal complaint.
Internal Escalation: Your concern will be reviewed by our senior management team, including our Head of Digital Experience. You will receive a written response outlining any further actions to be taken within 15 business days of the escalation.
External Recourse: If the internal process does not resolve your concern, you have the right to contact the relevant enforcement body. In Ontario, this is the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario. You may also file a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission if you believe you have experienced discrimination.
We see this process not as adversarial, but as a necessary accountability mechanism—a failsafe to ensure we live up to our stated principles.
Our Ongoing Journey
Accessibility is not a one-time project with a finish line. It is a continuous practice of listening, learning, and improving—much like the long-term monitoring of a lake's health. We are committed to this journey.
This statement will be reviewed and updated at least annually. The last review date was March 15, 2026.