Healthy Waters

August 20, 2014 · 0 Comments

Late this spring, the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) announced that it will receive $1.1 million from Environment Canada’s Lake Simcoe/South-eastern Georgian Bay clean-up Fund to be received over the next three years. The funding will support three on-the-ground programs to improve water quality: Healthy Waters from Brook to Bay; the Nottawasaga Watershed Improvement Project; and the Innisfil Creek and Upper Nottawasaga Watershed Improvement Program.
Wayne Wilson, the Chief Administrative Officer for NVCA said, the he “was pleased with support that the federal and provincial governments are providing to NVCA and our community partners, to improve the water quality of Georgian Bay Shoreline and overall stream and lake health in our watershed.”
Wilson reported that the Healthy Waters from Brook to Bay will provide grants to area landowners and community groups undertaking water quality improvement projects. The Nottawasaga Watershed Improvement Project will see NVCA continue to coordinate the stream restoration efforts of community groups in the northern part of the watershed, which includes the sub watersheds of the following rivers:
• Lower Nottawasaga River catchment
• Blue Mountain watersheds: Pretty River, Silver Creek, Black Ash Creek and Bateaux Creek
• Middle Nottawasaga River
• Mad River
• Pine River
• Willow Creek: including Matheson and Marl Creeks
Innisfil Creek and Upper Nottawasaga Watershed Improvement Program will allow NVCA to continue water quality and stream restoration work in the southern part of the watershed. This program will be conducted collaboratively with the South Simcoe Streams Network, which includes the sub watersheds of the following rivers:
• Upper Nottawasaga River
• Innisfil Creek: including Bailey and Beeton, Penneville and Cookstown Creeks
• Boyne River
NVCA will also receive $25,000 in funding for stream restoration work in Collingwood. The grant, received from the Great Lakes Guardian Fund, will support bank stabilization and habitat improvement work along Black Ash Creek and Pretty River near the Town of Collingwood during the summer and fall of 2014. In these projects volunteers will work to stabilize stream banks using natural materials. This process will help control erosion and shade and cool the river, improving water quality and restoring the stream habitat for trout and other fish species.
Under the Healthy Waters from Brook to Bay funding, eligible projects for grants of 30-100% up to $10,000 depending on project type include:
• Stream-side tree planting
• On-stream pond mitigation: fish passage ways, pond bottom draws, stream bypasses
• Restricting livestock from waterways and wetlands
• Runoff reduction from livestock yards and manure storages
• Runoff treatment
• Agricultural erosion control projects
• Fuel, chemical and pesticide storage improvements
• Upgrading failing septic systems to advanced systems that are within 30m of a natural, permanent water body
• Unused well decommissioning
Citizens and community groups can volunteer on community planting and stream rehabilitation projects; spring and fall are busy times. Volunteers may:
• do bank stabilization: seeding, planting, live-staking, anchoring woody materials, such as conifer trees
• Live-staking: pounding in living 1m stakes of willow and dogwood in the spring/fall to root and form a new plant
• help re-meander historically straightened sections of stream to restore habitat diversity and sediment transport capability
• plant native wildflowers, shrubs and trees to create a naturalized stream buffer, helping to stabilize stream banks, reduce erosion, cool water temperature, increase oxygen in the water, and filter nutrients like phosphorus.
Wayne Wilson stresses, “To be successful in these projects, we rely on the support of generous landowners to provide restoration sites and local support. We also rely on community volunteers who support tree planting, bank stabilization and other environmental projects.” If you’re a landowner or farmer interested in doing a project, and want to get involved or need help, give NVCA stewardship staff a call at 705-424-1479 or visit www.nvca.on.ca for more details.