COBDEN — The Muskrat Watershed Council (MWC) received a $24,852 grant from the Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund to address shoreline erosion on Muskrat Lake and along the Snake River, and to support the installation and monitoring of controlled tile drain (CTD) demonstration sites with the goal of reducing nutrient loading in the watershed. Nutrient loading is the main cause of blue-green algal blooms.
In partnership with Algonquin College (Pembroke’s) office of applied research and its environmental technician program, and with additional supports from the townships of Whitewater Region, Laurentian Valley, and Admaston/Bromley, the MWC will provide shoreline restoration and enhancement on four agricultural properties and four lakefront homes or cottages. At least 1,120 metres of shoreline, and a target of three hectares of land, will be restored by creating vegetative buffers of native plant species or seed.
The second part of the project will support the installation of two CTD demonstration sites. CTD systems allow farmers to control when and how much water leaves the field, potentially enhancing crop productivity while also protecting water quality by reducing nutrient loss into the water system at end-of-pipe. The funding will also support water quality monitoring of the CTD demonstration sites, building upon the existing monitoring network supported by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.
A summer co-op student from Algonquin College’s environmental technician program will work as a project co-ordinator for the MWC throughout the summer months to assist in the co-ordination of these various projects. Students from Algonquin College will also assist in shoreline buffering and other outreach activities from September to November as part of their course work.
School and community information events will also be held in summer and fall 2016. Two community information events will inform the public about water quality, shoreline buffers, and CTDs. Two school outreach sessions will engage and educate young people about what is being done to save their watershed and how to get involved.
The Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund is part of Ontario’s Great Lakes Strategy, which was set up to help communities take action to protect and restore their corner of the Great Lakes, the Ottawa River and connecting channels and watersheds.
The Muskrat Watershed Council is a volunteer, community-based, not-for-profit organization whose goal is to improve water quality for our local communities by using scientific and local-based knowledge. We seek to engage and empower people and communities in identifying and reducing nutrient loading from all sources on the Muskrat Lake Watershed.
To learn more, please visit our website www.muskratwatershedcouncil.ca or engage with us on Facebook Muskrat Watershed Council – MWC or on Twitter @MuskratWater
