Submitted by the Muskrat Watershed Council
COBDEN — About 30 people gathered at the Cobden Legion on August 6 for the annual general meeting of the Muskrat Watershed Council (MWC).
MWC Chair Karen Coulas invited Hal Johnson, Mayor of the Township of Whitewater Region, to say a few words. Mayor Johnson congratulated the MWC on what it has achieved so far and said the Whitewater Region Council supports the MWC in its efforts.
“Success breeds success,” he said, “Keep going … It’s so important for us to work on this.”
Guest Speaker: Gerry Richards, Renfrew County Water Quality Leadership Group
Ms. Coulas introduced the first guest speaker, Gerry Richards, of the Renfrew County Water Quality Leadership Group. He explained how six agricultural stakeholder groups came together in the fall of 2014 to explore how the agriculture community might participate in efforts to improve the health of watersheds across Renfrew County.
The six groups were: the Renfrew County Stewardship Council, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, The Ontario Cattleman’s Association, The Ontario Soil and Crop Association, The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, and the Renfrew South District Women’s Institute.
Each group contributed some funds to be able to leverage federal dollars from Growing Forward II as well as provincial funding from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), which allowed them to consult with community and agricultural stakeholders across the county and later to compile a report called, “Water quality in Renfrew County: How can Agriculture Play a Role.” This 2015 report presents an overview of the water issues in Renfrew County and describes which groups, associations and government agencies have been involved and what each has accomplished so far.
The report also discusses the pros and cons of various models used elsewhere in Canada for organizing watershed management, such as Conservation Authorities (CAs); the Muskoka Watershed Council (a non-CA watershed council); the Alberta Shared Governance Model; Environmental Advisory Committees and the Community Organizing Approach.
Mr. Richards said all groups consulted agree on several things, but most importantly that everyone wants clean water. And everyone understands the need to work together, to co-ordinate and collaborate across different groups, and to have a united vision for how Renfrew County can take care of its watersheds
The overwhelming consensus was that a Conservation Authority model would not be possible or desirable in Renfrew County. It is the most expensive option and CAs have become very demanding organizations in some places, Mr. Richards said.
Instead, the watershed groups consulted said they wanted a way of co-ordinating watershed management that involves municipal decision makers but that is driven by community and industry stakeholders.
A sustained effort to manage the watersheds in Renfrew County will require full-time staff of some sort, such as a paid co-ordinator. Fundraising alone is a huge challenge. Applying for grants takes a great deal of time and specialized skill. Volunteer efforts alone will not sustain the momentum needed to co-ordinate watershed management across the County.
Guest Speaker: Heather Murphy, Program Co-ordinator, Love Your Lake
The second guest speaker of the morning was Heather Murphy, Program Co-Mordinator of the Love Your Lake program, which is funded by the Canadian Wildlife Federation and Watersheds Canada. This free national program is delivered through regional organizations such as the MWC, and lake associations. Love Your Lake will partner with the MWC to run this program on Muskrat Lake in 2017.
Ms. Murphy started by describing how shorelines work to enhance wildlife and reduce erosion and flooding. She listed the signs of healthy and unhealthy shorelines and the impacts of each.
The process of implementing Love Your Lake starts with a partnership agreement with a local organization or lake association. An introductory letter and values survey is sent out to property owners with shorelines. Trained staff and students then assess the shoreline of each property on the lake from a boat, with no disruption to property owners. The assessment consists of observations only, with a photograph for the report. Assessors look at structures and docks, retaining walls, vegetation and habitat.
An individual report is written for each property owner, who receives a personal code to access their private report. The report contains a summary of the observations made, recommendations for voluntary actions and additional local resources.
Recommendations could include such things as planting trees along the shoreline, removing lawns along the shoreline and allowing nature to take over, or installing eavestroughs and rain barrels to reduce erosion.
The individual report is non-regulatory and is not shared with anyone but the property owner. A general, lake-level summary report is sent to the local organization that Love Your Lake partners with. This general report does not include any identifying information about property owners, such as names or addresses. For more information, visit LoveYourLake.ca
Reports from MWC Committees:
After the guest speakers, MWC committees gave updates on their activities.
The Science committee reported two Algonquin students have been hired by the MWC to work with Julie Sylvestre, director of MWC’s Science Committee, and Sarah Hall, Algonquin’s environmental technical program co-ordinator on two projects aimed at monitoring and helping restore water quality in the Muskrat watershed.
Algonquin College received funding from OMAFRA to set up controlled tile drainage (CTD) demonstration sites this summer, in collaboration with the MWC.
Controlled tile drain systems allow farmers to control when and how much water leaves the field, potentially enhancing crop productivity while improving water quality. CTD structures are attached near the outlet of subsurface drains of an agricultural field, designed to hold back water and nutrients, and subsequently raise the water table for improved water availability to root systems. The structures contain a series of adjustable boards which can be raised or removed depending on the user’s preference.
Generally, during the winter and spring they are open to allow water to drain and flow out of the field, and are closed in the summer to hold back water during dry weather. Mark Sunohara, a watershed science specialist for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, provided initial training on these structures. As well, the MWC’s Agriculture Committee organized two very well attended meetings for farmers to discuss CTDs.
The MWC also received funding from the Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund (GLGCF) to support CTD work and shoreline restoration around Muskrat Lake. Other partners such as the Renfrew County Soil and Crop Improvement Program and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are also collaborating on these initiatives.
Four CTDs have now been installed at two properties, with the help of local drainage expert and contractor, Peter Neill. The two sites are easily accessible by car. To arrange a visit, please email [email protected].
Monitoring equipment is being used to record water level in the structures over time, in combination with a weather station that measures precipitation, wind speed and direction, air temperature and soil moisture content. The goal is to get a comprehensive understanding of optimal water retention for ideal crop yield based on crop type and environmental factors.
The team will also be implementing other best management practices such as buffer strips and riparian (shoreline) zone enhancement on these farm properties and along Muskrat Lake. The group may also investigate the options of alternative tillage and cover crops. Data collected will be made public for other farmers who wish to try alternative methods or CTDs to improve their farming practices.
For the shoreline restoration project, the team used the self-assessment criteria from Love Your Lake to choose potential properties to restore. These criteria include such things as the percentage of vegetation within 10 metres of the shoreline, signs of erosion, the presence of retaining walls, areas of natural wildlife habitat, the presences of beaches, etc. They used aerial imagery from the public Renfrew County mapping system to try to determine where there is opportunity for enhancement.
Currently, the team is at the stage of contacting owners of several properties identified as candidates for shoreline enhancement to see if they are interested in a free shoreline restoration. This restoration would involve planting native species such as dogwoods, willows and alders.
As well as the above projects, the team is continuing its partnership with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) by collecting water quality data within their sampling network to further understand broader water quality factors and characteristics. MOECC has provided Algonquin College with in-kind donations to help with water quality monitoring (sampling), which covers monthly sampling at 24 sites.
In addition to the grants mentioned above, the fundraising committee reported that the MWC applied for many grants this year and was successful in receiving financial contributions from several municipalities: Whitewater Region, Laurentian Valley and Admaston/ Bromley townships.
The MWC also created a new Corporate and Club Membership Program this year to encourage and recognize donations at the following levels: Gold — $1,000; Silver — $500-$999; Bronze — $200-$499 and Friend of MWC less than $199.
SRB Technologies and Jp2g Consultants Inc. became the first Gold Corporate Members by each donating $3,000. The funds will be used for various projects, including the 2016 monitoring report to be prepared by Dr. Rebecca Dalton, the research specialist in chemical and environmental toxicology who prepared last year’s monitoring report.
To learn more about the Muskrat Watershed Council, please visit the website www.muskratwatershedcouncil.ca or engage with them on Facebook Muskrat Watershed Council – MWC or on Twitter @MuskratWater
