Watershed Ed

Broad-scale Fisheries Monitoring, Christie Lake

The attached letter (Word Document, 52 KB) outlines upcoming work that the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) will be conducting on Christie Lake from June to September 2010 relating to a fisheries monitoring program that has been conducted across Ontario over the past several years. The results of this operation will be communicated back to you via this web site and will provide us with varied information from the fish caught during this survey, including fish species, sex, age, length, weight, and general health. This will be used to determine sport fish abundance, life history characteristics of key species and the diversity of the fish community. A fact sheet (PDF file, 116 KB) is also provided here for more information.

Low Water in the Rideau Valley

Media Release, June 2, 2010

Rideau Valley river and stream flows are well below normal for this time of year due to the low precipitation since January. This year’s average precipitation at weather stations around the Rideau watershed is 76% of the normal amount for the first five months of 2010.

There is normally about 80 millimetres of rain in Ottawa in May. This May, only about 35 mm of rain fell and most of that was in the first eight days of the month.

The impact on stream flows has been significant. Normal flows for the end of May on the Rideau River in Ottawa are about 32 cubic metres per second (cms). The flow on May 31 was 8.8 cms. On the Jock River, flows are typically around 4 cms in May but on May 31 the flow was 0.6 cms. Jock River flows have been lower on May 31 only twice in the 41 years on record. Kemptville Creek and the Tay River had similar situations with flows well below normal for the end of May.

The rainfall this week could stop the decline in flow and, should there be enough runoff, cause an increase in flows toward normal for the time of year. However, Conservation Authority staff will continue to monitor conditions and, should it be warranted, will issue notice of the declaration of Level 1 low water conditions as part of the Ontario Low Water Response program. At that level, voluntary water conservation measures are recommended. Should Level 2 and 3 conditions occur, mandatory cutbacks may have to be imposed.

The last time the RVCA issued a Level 1 Low Water declaration was in September, 2005.

To learn more about Ontario’s Low Water Response program visit: http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Water/2ColumnSubPage/STEL02_164583.html and visit the RVCA’s website for local conditions.

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More Information:
Patrick Larson, Senior Water Resources Technician
613-692-3571 or 1-800-267-3504 extension 1110

Rideau Valley Conservation Authority is a partnership of municipalities within the Rideau Valley watershed created under the Conservation Authorities Act to deliver a range of programs in watershed management and natural resource conservation. The RVCA Low Water Response Program is done under a partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources for the residents and municipalities of the watershed.

Algae: Too Much of a Good Thing?

There are millions of tiny aquatic plants called algae in all natural waterbodies including the Rideau River, its tributaries and lakes. They are usually harmless, green and use energy from the sun and nutrients from the water to live, grow and reproduce.

These little plants are critical to the life in our lakes. They are the first, vital links in a natural food chain that all other water creatures rely on including insects, frogs, minnows, small fish right up to top predators like bass, muskie and lake trout. Under normal circumstances, algae also produce large amounts of oxygen helping to keep the water quality in a healthy state.

So they are very important.

But too much of a good thing can be very bad! During warm weather, populations of algae can grow quickly to form large masses called “blooms”. These blooms commonly occur in late summer and early fall when the water is warmest and nutrients are abundant. The key nutrient is phosphorus which has been fingered as one of the prime culprits in these sudden excessive growth spurts.

Phosphorus is a plant fertilizer which helps plants grow. It can get into the waterways from leaking or inefficient septic systems and through runoff from lawns and decaying organic matter. As the algae mat grows and expands, the lower levels of algae die off and decompose over large areas which can use up much of the oxygen in the water and degrade the entire aquatic ecosystem.

Reducing the amount of extra phosphorus entering the water from human activities is an effective way to combat algae blooms. To help reduce phosphorus from your property, you can plant a shoreline buffer, reduce ornamental lawns near the water, control overland runoff, stop using lawn and garden fertilizers and have your septic system inspected and pumped regularly. These are all excellent ways to reduce excessive algae in our lakes and rivers.

While Rideau Valley Conservation Authority can answer some of your questions and concerns about algae on your lake or river shore, the Ministry of the Environment and your local Health Unit are the agencies that have the response role. They will work together to let the public know if an algae bloom becomes harmful to human health.

Healthy Wetlands Make Healthy Communities

A summer stroll along the cattail fringe of your local river might get you a glimpse of a dabbling duck, the industrious beaver or the adaptable muskrat (or at least signs of their work). Just as a minute’s observation of a small swamp or inland marsh will bring a world of wetland creatures to life that you probably never even imagined living nearby.

Your family can make such discoveries at the Perth Wildlife Reserve, Chapman Mills, Baxter, Mill Pond, Purdon, Mill of Kintail or any other natural Conservation Area in Eastern Ontario because wetlands and river flood plains are a big part of the scenery in our area.

These special types of landscapes provide all the right ingredients for a huge number and assortment of plants and animals: heat, light, shelter, water, food and nest materials. Scientists tell us that fully 90% of the plants and animals in a lake or river NEED wetlands or flood plain at some critical point in their life cycle. That’s why this unique and sensitive area along the edge of the river is often called the “Ribbon of Life”. Without those special areas, the numbers and diversity of our wild plants, fish and animals would go down.

Wetlands also clean the water. The reduced speed of water through a wetland gives time for most of the sediment to settle out and the increasingly thick plant life filters and absorbs large amounts of pollutants from the water. By “residing” in the wetland for some time, the water can infiltrate downwards into the underground aquifers cleaning and restoring water supplies for the towns and families who draw their drinking water from wells.

And as if free recreational opportunities and water purification wasn’t enough, we know too that wetlands reduce flooding in communities farther down the watershed by storing water during floods or high rain and snowmelt periods. Thanks to recent studies by the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (to be finished in early April), they are putting numbers to this flood reduction value and finding out just how important wetlands are in reducing flood risk in the Rideau Valley watershed. The stored water is released slowly back into the surface streams or down into the aquifers throughout the summer/fall season.

This is important for municipalities and property owners to know. Natural wetlands of all shapes, sizes and characteristics provide some very cost-effective flood and drought protection to downstream neighbours. Less flood damage during high water and less drought during low water periods- one more reason to take care of these valuable wetlands. Next thing you know, they’ll be telling us cattails are edible or some crazy thing like that! Will the miracle of wetlands never cease?