Report to/Rapport au :
Planning and Environment Committee
Comité de l'urbanisme et de
l'environnement
26 April 2004 / le 26 avril 2004
Submitted by/Soumis par : Ned Lathrop, General Manager/Directeur général,
Development Services/Services
d'aménagement
Contact Person/Personne
ressource : Richard Kilstrom, Manager / Gestionnaire
Community Design and Environment / Conception et
milieu communautaire
(613) 580-2424 x22653, Richard.Kilstrom@ottawa.ca
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SUBJECT: |
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OBJET : |
RAPPORT
DE SITUATION SUR LA STRATÉGIE CONCERNANT LE BASSIN HYDROGRAPHIQUE DU
BAS-RIDEAU |
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Planning and Environment Committee receive the attached report from the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority providing an update on the status of the Lower Rideau River Watershed Strategy for information.
RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement prenne connaissance du
rapport ci-joint de l'Office de protection de la nature de la vallée du
Bas-Rideau fournissant une mise à jour sur la stratégie concernant le bassin
hydrographique du Bas-Rideau.
BACKGROUND
The Lower Rideau River Watershed Strategy, led by the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, in partnership with the City and other interested agencies (Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Parks Canada, Ministry of Agriculture and Food, National Capital Commission, and North Grenville) has been underway for approximately one year and a half with the study completion scheduled for mid-2004. For the purposes of this study, the Lower Rideau is defined as that portion of the Rideau River watershed from the City of Ottawa limits at Burritt's Rapids, downstream to Rideau Falls at the Ottawa River.
To recap the rationale for this study, the 1992 and 1978 Rideau River Stormwater Management Studies focused on protecting and restoring the lower Rideau River from degradation associated with urban stormwater runoff, giving priority to meeting swimming criteria. The implicit expectation was that meeting these goals would protect and enhance the Rideau River. These studies led to policies and guidelines for the design of new urban drainage systems to achieve a "non-degradation" objective. Priorities for the implementation of the recommended policies and capital works were geared to the protection of recreational potential at Mooney's Bay first, then restoration of water quality downstream of Hog's Back later, if and when funding could be secured.
It is now recognized that the limited focus of these earlier studies was too narrow to allow for consideration of the full range of impacts affecting the health of the river. More recently, efforts such as the Rideau River Biodiversity project led by the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Rideau River Round Table's "State of the River Report - 2001", and ongoing environmental monitoring over the past decade have examined the condition of the river as an aquatic ecosystem and some of the factors influencing the river's health. The impetus to undertake the Lower Rideau River Watershed Strategy was to methodically apply the knowledge that has been gained through these more recent efforts in the preparation and adoption of a more effective strategy for the management of the Lower Rideau.
Such an integrated strategy is currently being developed by the consultant team (Aquafor Beech Ltd./Robinson Consultants Inc.) in close consultation with the Technical Advisory and Steering Committees for ultimate adoption by policy makers at the federal, provincial and municipal levels of government.
DISCUSSION
An update on the status of the study to date was requested at the September 9th, 2003 (former) Environmental Services Committee meeting. A response has been prepared by the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority and is attached as Document 1.
CONSULTATION
Details of the consultation process being undertaken for the study are provided in the attached RVCA report.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no financial implications associated with this information item. The financial implications of the Lower Rideau River Watershed Strategy will be addressed when the final study is brought forward for Committee and Council approval later this year.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 - Report on Status of the Lower Rideau Watershed Strategy prepared by RVCA
Report on Status
of the Lower Rideau Watershed Strategy
Initially Prepared: October 6, 2003
Updated to: April 13, 2004
The original purpose of this brief was to inform the various participating organizations on the progress that is being made on the preparation of the Lower Rideau Watershed Strategy. The original version of the report was presented at a meeting of the project Steering Committee on October 9, 2003, and was received by the RVCA Board of Directors at its meeting of October 16, 2003. It was also to have been presented to the City of Ottawa’s Environmental Services Committee at its meeting of October 28, 2003, as part of staff response to a request from Committee members for an update on the Watershed Strategy. That meeting was eventually cancelled, but the item has now been brought forward to be included in the agenda for May 25th meeting of the City’s Planning and Environment Committee. The status report has been updated accordingly.
Project Initiation
Preparation of the Lower Rideau Watershed Strategy was initiated in the fall of 2002 after a series of staff level meetings of organizations that have responsibility for day-to-day regulatory and operational work in river and watershed management. The organizations that were included in these early discussions, and have been involved throughout the project are:
Municipal: City of Ottawa
Township of North Grenville
Provincial: Ministry of the Environment
Ministry of Natural Resources
Ministry of Agriculture
Federal: Rideau Canal – Parks Canada
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
National Capital Commission
Public Works and Government Services Canada
Rideau Valley Conservation Authority
These early meetings resulted in consensus that a common strategic framework is needed to help guide and coordinate individual and collective actions of the organizations. A review and updating of the policies and procedures of the various agencies is needed to ensure that they are consistent with current day practice in watershed and ecosystem management, and to apply the knowledge that has been gained through research and monitoring work completed on the river over the past several years.
Terms of reference to guide the strategic planning effort were developed during the first part of 2002. The watershed planning approach was adopted, incorporating the concepts of ecosystem management, adaptive environmental management and the precautionary principle. The watershed planning team was built in the early months of 2002. It now includes a multi-disciplinary Technical Advisory Committee of agency personnel, a Steering Committee of senior executive level personnel of the organizations that are contributing the funding and that have the most critical operational and regulatory responsibilities, and a Watershed Community Focus Group of people representing community associations and stakeholder groups. The Terms of Reference were adopted by the Steering Committee in mid-2002, after review by the Focus Group. Professional consultants were engaged in the fall of 2002 to undertake the technical work required to ensure that the strategy is founded upon sound and credible scientific knowledge (data collection and assimilation, preparation of reports, scientific and technical analyses) and to assist the Technical Advisory Committee throughout the consensus-building exercise.
The Mission Statement adopted for the project is:
“Using the ecosystem approach, to select an optimal set of strategies for achieving multiple objectives in management of the Lower Rideau River and its corridor, and to review and update river/corridor/watershed policies and procedures.”
The project is being undertaken with funding enabled through the Planning, Environment and Infrastructure Policy Branch of the City of Ottawa’s Planning and Development Department, together with funding from the RVCA General Levy and Provincial (MNR) transfer payments.
Progress to Date
By October 2003, the project had progressed through the Vision and Objectives-setting phases. Goals and Objectives for river and watershed management have been expressed (Annex A), after considerable dialogue on the perceived issues. A “long list” of watershed management issues was compiled early in the project through individual interviews with each participating organization. A working document summarizing the status of the river and watershed environment was prepared in June 2003. This so-called “Phase 1” report drew upon and pulled together the results and conclusions of previous research, studies and the accumulated data and information from ongoing monitoring efforts. The Technical Advisory Committee used the Phase 1 report to focus its inter-disciplinary discussions on the limiting factors and perceptible trends in watershed health in the Lower Rideau.
An eight-page “Summary of Issues” paper has been prepared, to provide a succinct description of what the key issues are, and to serve as an important reference point for the discussion of what needs to be done to address them. The Summary of Issues Paper was endorsed by the Steering Committee in October, and has since been revised within the Technical Advisory Committee. The revised Summary of Issues, attached hereto as Annex B, is subject to further review by the Steering Committee. The issues have been described under the following headings (bold print indicates the issues that the Technical Advisory Committee are most important to address in this iteration of the Lower Rideau Watershed Strategy):
A discussion of management actions for effectively addressing the issues was begun in November 2003 within the Technical Advisory Committee with assistance from the consultants, and was to have been completed by mid winter. However, it was soon recognized in that process, that the watershed objectives needed to be stated in clearer and more explicit terms. To develop the road map for watershed management on the Lower Rideau we needed to be much more specific in describing the destination that we were aiming for. We need to be able to describe the benefits to be gained by pursuing any suggested course of action in very clear and practical terms. To do this, the Technical Advisory Committee has devoted its last two meetings to selecting “indicators” and associated “targets” for each of the key issues. By “indicators”, we mean specific, selected characteristics or qualities of the river and watershed environment that can be measured and that provide valuable insight about the condition of the system and how it is responding to or being influenced by various stressors and/or management efforts. The resulting list of Indicators and Targets has been prepared in draft form and is currently being reviewed by the TAC.
Listing and evaluating possible or preferred courses of action will require some objective analysis of the associated benefits and costs, together with a more subjective rating of how prepared the collaborating organizations and stakeholders are to seek and/or commit the resources that might be required in order to implement changes from current practice.
The courses of action that are considered to have the most merit (in terms of expected benefits and costs as well as being supported by the implementers) will be organized within the “Lower Rideau Watershed Strategy”. The Strategy will be complete in identifying resource requirements and roles and responsibilities for the various management actions. These may include regulatory policy shifts, changes in operational procedures, extension of existing or establishment of new stewardship and educational programs. Specific monitoring efforts aimed at better understanding how the watershed and river environment responds to present stressors and as well as our watershed management efforts will be recommended. We expect that many elements of the recommended Lower Rideau Watershed Strategy are already being implemented by the various agencies and organizations. The Watershed Strategy initiative will have served its purposes by integrating the ongoing watershed and river management work under one strategic framework, and by identifying where changes to existing programs or establishing new initiatives would be beneficial.
According to the most recently updated schedule, the draft Watershed Strategy will be assembled for review by the Steering Committee and the Watershed Community Focus Group by late May, 2004. A public Open House will be held in June to gather feedback on the strategy from the wider community.
Finalization of the Watershed Strategy cannot occur until each of the participating organizations finds itself able and willing to endorse the Strategy, and to express a commitment to collaborating on its implementation.
Publication of the Final 2004 version of the Lower Rideau Watershed Strategy, complete with endorsements by all participating organizations will occur as soon as possible after the draft Watershed Strategy is circulated.
In addition to involvement of the Watershed Community Focus Group at key points in Watershed Planning Process, and the Public Open Houses, the public communications effort in the Watershed Strategy project has included:
Prepared by:
Bruce A. Reid, P.Eng.
Watershed Science and Engineering Services
Rideau Valley Conservation Authority
Annex A
Goals and Objectives for the Lower Rideau Watershed
Strategy
endorsed by the Steering Committee as of June 6, 2003
Goal
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To protect the cultural and natural environments of the Lower Rideau River Watershed ecosystem for the benefit of humans and other terrestrial and aquatic life. |
Principles
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1. The Lower Rideau River Watershed
Strategy is a policy and planning document of the participating
agencies: the Rideau Valley
Conservation Authority, City of Ottawa, Township of North Grenville, Parks
Canada, Fisheries & Oceans, Public Works & Government Services
Canada, Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Agriculture & Food, and
the Ministry of Natural Resources. |
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2. Signatory agencies should lead by
example to promote ecologically responsible behaviours and practices. |
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3. Stakeholders include residents, users
of the watershed, the business community, non-governmental organizations, and
government. Cooperation and
collaboration amongst stakeholders is needed to carry out the strategy. |
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4. Both surface and groundwater
resources within the Rideau River basin should be protected. |
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5. The needs of humans should be
balanced with the needs of other species. |
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6. Natural habitats and systems should
be protected from degradation or improved on a priority basis. |
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7. Each reach is a part of the larger
watershed and actions in one reach will impact the others, either directly
through changes in habitat/water quality/quality, or indirectly through the
diversion of resources. |
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8. All decision-making should consider
the intrinsic value of the natural environment, and the corresponding cost of
redressing harm to the environment. |
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9. Agency programs and activities should
be regularly monitored, assessed, and modified as required to respond to
evolving issues and conditions in the watershed. |
Objectives
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Communication and
Cooperation |
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Objective #1: To promote and facilitate cooperative and collaborative effort and action by all public agencies that have a role in river and watershed management. |
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Surface Water Quantity |
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Objective #2 Maintain or improve water resources to support natural and human uses of the river. |
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Objective #3 Manage flooding risks to human life and property to within acceptable limits. |
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Objective #4 Maintain or improve natural flows in tributaries to support aquatic habitat functions. |
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Surface Water
Quality |
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Objective
#5 Manage the quality and quantity of
non-point source runoff. |
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Objective #6 Manage surface and groundwater contamination from point source discharges. |
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Groundwater Quality
and Quantity |
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Objective #7 Maintain groundwater levels and
discharges. |
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Objective #8 Protect groundwater quality. |
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Aquatic Communities
and Habitats |
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Objective #9 Maintain or improve populations of native aquatic species and communities. |
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Objective #10 Maintain or improve the stability, diversity and linkages between habitats that support aquatic species and communities. |
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Terrestrial
Communities and Habitats |
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Objective #11 Maintain or improve the stability, diversity and linkages between habitats that support terrestrial species and communities. |
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Objective #12 Minimize the impact of land use on terrestrial habitat. |
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Water and Riparian
Uses |
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Objective #13 Manage the Rideau waterway to provide reasonable outdoor recreational/tourist uses, within sustainable limits. |
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Objective #14 Manage the use of surface water and groundwater (including water withdrawals and hydropower) within sustainable limits. |
Date of this version: April 15, 2004
The final chapter of the Phase 1 report identified a number of major issues affecting the current environmental health of the watershed.
The following
paragraphs summarize the major issues as they are presently understood within
the Technical Advisory Committee. The
wording below reflects comments
received on the Phase 1 report, discussions around the TAC table, and feedback
received on preliminary versions of this Summary.
The issues
are described here as series of operating “hypotheses” organized according to
the major issues. Reaching consensus on
this description of “What the Issues Are”
is a critical step in the watershed
planning process, as it will help focus
the development of management actions – i.e. “What Should be Done to Address the Issues”
Hypothesis:
·
Water
level management rules for through navigation purposes are non-negotiable
during the navigation season (mid-May to mid-October), but the rule curves in
the off-season could be adjusted by Parks Canada if the reasons for doing so,
and the associated benefits and costs
are demonstrated
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Controlled
water levels in the Mooney’s Bay to Manotick reaches (Reaches 2 and 3) through
the late fall and winter, and in the period between freshet and navigation
season, are presently set conservatively to avoid excessively high water
levels, recognizing that the ability of Canal operators to respond quickly to
rising flows is constrained by the mechanical fittings of the existing
structures and occupational health and safety imperatives; the present practices have a limiting effect
on the productivity of the littoral zone above those structures, but to make
the littoral zone accessible by aquatic species would require maintaining water
levels near the navigation level immediately following the peak flow
·
Discharges
from unregulated tributaries such as the Jock River and Kemptville Creek, as
well as from other minor tributaries to the Lower Rideau represent a significant
portion of the river flow and complicate water management efforts, since the
magnitude of their effect varies from year to year and is not predictable with
a high degree of reliability using available hydrologic simulation tools
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Flow
releases from upstream storage are considered to be optimal; as much as possible a good balance has been
struck between satisfying downstream needs (navigation, municipal water supply,
instream needs and making up for losses to evaporation), and the recreational
and habitat needs in the reservoir lakes
·
Artificially
controlled water levels for navigation make for a wider and deeper waterbody
with reduced velocities of flow – conditions that are conducive to the growth
of aquatic plants in a nutrient rich setting;
the appropriate objective with respect to the indicator nutrient (TP) is
probably the PWQO for lakes 0.020 mg/l instead of the PWQO for rivers (0.030
mg/l), in these hydraulic conditions.
There are both antagonistic and synergistic obectives associated with the management of water levels and flows within the reaches. It is important to recognize that runoff from only the upper one-third of the watershed (above Smiths Falls) is subject to significant (yet limited) control using man-made reservoirs. The majority of the watershed in not regulated. Our ability to modify the flow regime of the river in its Lower Reaches is limited, while the control dams of the Canal system enable us to control the water levels throughout the year. The objectives for flow and water level management vary with seasons as follows:
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Spring:
pre-freshet: provide flow from upstream storage (if
possible) for ice management; during freshet: provide capacity at
dams for passage of spring flood, use
upstream storage (if and when possible) to minimize downstream peak flows; post freshet: manage flow releases to
minimize interference with fish spawning success, fill Canal reaches to navigation level by mid-May
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Summer:
release minimum flows from storages in upper watershed, to meet water supply needs of Smiths Falls
and Perth, reduce eutrophication (through dilution), overcome looses to
evaporation and maintain navigable water depths, protect fish habitats, permit power generation and aesthetics of Rideau
Falls
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Fall: set water levels for winter (provide
capacity to convey flows associated with mid-winter thaws and spring freshet),
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Winter: release minimum flows for fish habitat
support from upstream storages, prevent
low dissolved oxygen levels
Hypothesis:
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The current quality of water at
swimming beaches is very good to excellent with very few beach postings.
·
Data indicate that most of the
time the waters of the Rideau River can be considered to be “safe” for water
contact recreation (e.coli < 100
counts/100ml); exceedances are expected
to occur after wet weather periods
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Efforts at controlling further
increases in bacterial loading should continue, but the emphasis should be
placed on controlling dry weather sources , so as not to increase the frequency of exceedances; controlling the actual bacterial counts
during wet weather events is of
relatively less importance
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Monitoring of other pathogenic
organisms (e.g. giardia, cryptosporidium,
should be considered), to obtain additional information on the health risks
associated with body contact recreation in the river.
In general, swimming beach closures at public beaches are not a frequent occurrence. Available water quality sampling data show that most of the time during the swimming season, E.coli counts in the main channel of the river meet the PWQO for body contact recreation at designated swimming areas (at less than 100 counts per 100 ml sample).
Localized exceedances the PWQO threshold should be expected to occur frequently in near shore areas and near the outfalls of storm drain systems and tributary watercourses. These local conditions are generally not reflected in data from the river sampling, which is carried out in the main channel of the river for the most part. Meanwhile data for the tributary watercourses do indicate more frequent exceedance of the PWQO for e.coli. and other contaminants. A number of rural and urban sources of bacteria exist throughout the LRRW and also upstream in the Middle Rideau, Jock and Kemptville tributary watersheds. As the density of potential sources of pathogens varies along the river, so does the likelihood of locally elevated bacteria counts. Faulty septic systems are a specifically identified source of bacterial contamination, as are cross-connected sewers and agricultural runoff. Indiginous wildlife populations are also sources of bacteria.
It should be recognized that e.coli. is simply an indicator of the presence of bacteria and viruses originating from human and animal wastes. A favourable result on an e.coli. test does not necessarily indicate that the water is free of parasitic organisms such as giardia or cryptosporidium, or that it meets aesthetic standards for swimming (clarity, presence of algae and weeds, taste, odour, etc.)
Hypothesis:
·
In-river
total phosphorus (TP) concentrations have declined over the years, but there
remains a residual surplus of nutrients (TP is the key indicator) in the system
which is the result of more than 200 years of change in the watershed and its
nutrient cycle; nutrient loads continue to be delivered to the river and its
tributaries from a number of sources, including agricultural runoff, urban
runoff, erosion of shorelines and exposed soils surface, and older substandard
on-site sewage systems; evidence of this continuing nutrient surplus is
apparent in the abundant growth of aquatic plants and algae in all river
reaches, and frequent exceedances of the PWQO for total phosphorus
·
The
system continues to “age” and advance towards a more eutrophic state at a more
rapid pace than it would without man’s influences in the watershed; as eutrophication proceeds, the character of
the system will change
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If
it is our wish to slow the pace of change, or reverse its direction, it might
be necessary not only to continue TP loading reductions, but to consider
whether there are any realistic and environmentally benign or ecologically
sustainable ways of removing some of the
phosphorus that has accumulated in the system over the years and continues to
cycle through the bottom sediments and in the biomass of the river.
·
See
also the fifth bullet under water level and flow management
Total phosphorus concentrations within the
reaches periodically exceed the PWQO’s and concentrations in tributaries within
the LRRW, as well as upstream in the Middle Rideau, Jock and Kemptville
tributary watersheds frequently exceed guidelines with some tributaries, such
as Steven’s and Sawmill Creeks, exceeding the guidelines by an order of
magnitude or more.
While historic evidence indicates some reduction in phosphorus loadings, current loadings are still sufficient to support abundant aquatic plant growth that is maintained or exacerbated by various factors, including traditionally slow flowing waters (and some areas of temporary semi-stagnancy), a warming climate, increased shoreline development, storm water runoff, and most recently of note, increased water clarity due to zebra mussel colonization and water stagnation. The bottom sediments are also a source of nutrients in the reaches.
Hypothesis:
·
Dissolved
oxygen deficits are a limiting factor in the health of fish and aquatic
communities, and are closely associated with oxygen demands resulting from the
nutrient-rich condition of the system, and the fact that natural oxygenation is
diminished due to the drowning of natural riffles along the river, by control
dams. Anoxic conditions within the deep waters of Mooney’s Bay are direct
evidence of this effect, however, less is known about dissolved oxygen
conditions elsewhere.
·
Efforts
to reduce the nutrient enrichment should be beneficial in terms of the oxygen
regime; efforts to oxygenate the river
using artificial means do not appear to be warranted, but dissolved oxygen data
collection should be worked into the existing water quality monitoring
programs, to obtain a better sense of how important the issue is.
Although evidence is limited, there would appear
to be an oxygen deficit in at least portions of each of the reaches, particularly
in Mooney’s Bay, that is causing stress to aquatic communities in summer and
potentially during winter. This is
related to eutrophication and excessive aquatic plant and algae weed growth, and
perhaps also to water flow management.
Stratification of Mooney’s Bay causes substantial reductions in
dissolved oxygen levels in the bottom waters of the bay to levels that can
cause fish mortality.
Hypothesis:
·
The
primary concern regarding navigational use of the waterway is the damage to
shorelines which is accelerated by the wakes of motorized watercraft – erosion damages to private and public
lands adjacent to the waterway, disruption of aquatic habitats in the littoral
and riparian zones, and localized impairment of water quality (turbidity, and
elements associated with eroded soil particles). There is also a perception that conflict between various types of
recreational use is on the increase, with the increasing population in the watershed.
Navigational
uses will always constitute a major recreational use of Reaches 2,3 and 4, including the recent trend of
increased usage within reaches (boats that do not
necessarily use the lock system). This is in part co-incident with
continuing shoreline-based residential and recreational development that has
led to increased demands for extended navigation seasons and for aquatic plant
(weed) control for navigation, recreational and aesthetic reasons, as well as conflicts between boaters, sensitive environmental habitats, and
shore owners. Increasing numbers of personal watercraft
which are more able to access the shallower waters of sensitive near-shore
areas (sensitive in terms of both aquatic habitat and shoreline erosion
potential), contribute to the issue. In
addition to more use of areas outside the traditional channel for boating,
there are also increased concerns for maintaining water
levels within narrow ranges throughout the year, whether to ensure adequate (navigation) depths for
boating or for fish spawning and survival.
Hypothesis:
·
An assessment of the aquatic habitats of the
Rideau and its biodiversity has been undertaken in recent years and the
findings are generally encouraging, however
the trends are generally not well understood;
·
there
are indications that the system is stressed, and its capacity to adapt to
additional incremental stresses, without degradation is not known;
·
monitoring
of key indicators needs to be continued in a comprehensive and thorough fashion
to better understand the trends;
·
the
precautionary principle suggests that efforts at habitat restoration, and
reduction of known stressors ought to be pursued while monitoring to better
understand the trend is being done.
Fish and wildlife communities and their habitats, while representing a high biodiversity within the LRRW, show evidence of stress from a variety of sources. Some of the examples are as follows:
·
zebra mussel populations have displaced native
mussels
·
rapid growth of invasive eurasian water milfoil
in some areas has changed some native aquatic communities. Other invasive species such as curly leaved
pondweed that have already impacted the River Styx of the canal may cause future
challenges in the Rideau River and Lakes areas
·
diverse, abundant warm water fish communities
occur throughout the river, dominated by sunfishes and basses
·
the abundance of top predators such as muskie,
pike, and walleye is relatively low possibly the result of lack of spawning and
nursery habitat within reaches
·
the Rideau has a relatively high diversity of
aquatic plants and algae, with many sensitive species present
·
aquatic habitats and communities, while
generally diverse and abundant, are showing stress from numerous sources
including eutrophication, oxygen depletion, invasion of exotic species and may
be near a threshold for major change
·
shallow riverine wetland communities may be
threatened by a combination of stresses including shoreline development, water
level management, eutrophication, etc.
·
there is little information on fish harvest
rates and fishing pressure and its impact on fish communities.
Hypothesis:
·
Given
that less than 5% of the lands in the watershed will undergo development in the
foreseeable future (i.e the planning horizon of the current official plans),
actions to address the various issues and to achieve the goals and objectives
will need to be focused on existing urban and rural land uses. Thus many actions will be in the nature of
stewardship initiatives (by incentive or by regulatory mandate), rather than
development control policies. They will
be dependent on public funding (through the income or property tax base, or
through voluntary contributions from interest groups), as opposed to
development charges.
·
Further
urban development beyond the limits identified in the current official plans is
a distinct possibility (some would say it is inevitable); changes in rural land management practices
are also possible;
·
as
new long range plans are developed through the Planning Act process, the watershed implications will need to be
considered;
·
watershed
simulation tools that are capable of predicting the watershed response to
future land use changes and developments (using key indicators) need to be
developed
A significant characteristic of land use within the LRRW is that very little, less than 5% of the lands will undergo development. The significance of this is that actions to address the various issue and strive to achieve the goals and objectives will be focused on existing urban and rural land uses. Thus many actions will rely on stewardship, rather than regulatory means for implementation or be dependent on agency/interest group funding as opposed to development funding. There are a variety of land use management issues that are generally the source of the receiving water quality and community/habitat degradation. Primary examples include:
·
increased shoreline development by riverfront
landowners results in shore hardening and loss of shallow littoral (wetland)
habitat within the reaches
·
lack of vegetated riparian lands along river and
tributaries, including major areas upstream of the 4 reaches, has substantial
impacts on nutrient and sediment loading to the river. Agricultural land use
practices, primarily within the lower third of the watershed on the clay plain,
are a concern with respect to point and non-point nutrient, sediment and
pesticide loads.
For example, there are still a few locations where cows have direct
access to and use littoral river areas.
·
there are some large areas (about 22,000 ha) of
lands draining directly to the lower Rideau where management of land use
practices would directly benefit the river and riverside environment by
reducing sediment, nutrient, bacteria and contaminant loads
·
flooding and erosion problems and floodplain
development are problems, particularly in redevelopment areas, at river
crossings and along the Long Reach
·
road maintenance, de-icing (road salt) and snow
disposal are a potential threat to aquatic habitats
·
storm water management and natural area
protection/restoration on existing development and redevelopment lands
·
there are extensive areas of municipal drains,
tributary to the LRRW
·
there are concerns regarding the encroachment of
development on the Corridor and the resultant loss of scenic views of the river
and corridor
·
there are roadside ditches with no or minimal
sediment control/catch basins that drain directly into the river
Hypothesis:
·
Generally
the demand on available surface water supplies in the system is low – there is
ample water in the system on an annual basis to accommodate present day
demands, without compromising aquatic habitat or navigation objectives. During unusually dry periods, best efforts
are used with success to meet the most important demands.
·
Sustainable
limits on the system’s capacity to accommodate increasing demand, or to adjust
to the effects of global climate change are generally not well understood. In stream needs (for support of aquatic
habitat) of the system have not been quantified. Any management plan should include efforts to develop hydrologic
simulation tools to be used in water budget analysis and the determination of
sustainable limits; and instream needs
should be defined using accepted techniques (some of which are currently being
researched by the Province and Conservation Ontario).
Generally, residents, communities and business entities in the watershed do not depend to a high degree on the surface water resources of the watershed for domestic or industrial water supply purposes . The Town of Perth and a private industrial firm and Smiths Falls and draw water from the Tay River and Rideau Lakes respectively, benefiting from the low flow augmentation that is provided by operation of Rideau Canal reservoirs. Irrigation systems for agricultural production purposes are few, but watering systems for golf courses and sod farms are present. The relatively low degree to which surface water supply systems have been established probably reflects the natural character of the hydrologic regime of the Rideau system, which is one of extremes – high spring flows associated with snowmelt and rain on snow events contrasting with low flows and very low flows in the hot summer months.
Nevertheless, the increasing demand for surface and ground water supplies to support a growing population and continuing economic activities, combined with the droughts of recent years has alerted the public and agencies to the need for a better accounting of the water supplies that could be available for use in the system.
·
The public expects all public
agencies to cooperate and collaborate on watershed management, sharing
information and knowledge freely while avoiding duplication of effort, and
acting always in the public interest
·
Watershed residents require
relevant and factual information and technical guidance on how best to meet
their obligations as stewards of watershed resources
·
There is a need for more frequent
and timely public information on watershed conditions using key indicators of
watershed health, and on opportunities for individuals and groups to become
involved in watershed management and monitoring
·
It is generally accepted that
regulatory controls on certain activities are a necessary part of an effective
watershed management program; the administration and enforcement of needed
regulations must be perceived as being fair, reasonable and consistent in order to achieve a high rate of
compliance
10)
Tributary and
River Corridor Protection
·
Currently, nutrient and
bacteria concentrations within the tributaries are at least an order of
magnitude greater than levels in the 4 reaches. While past management efforts have address bacterial loading to
swimming beaches, bacteria remains a concern in the tributaries. On the other hand, tributary nutrient
loadings, particularly total phosphorus, are a substantial contributor of
nutrient to the 4 reaches, accelerating the eutrophication process here. The implementation of nutrient controls
within the tributaries are required if we are to slow or reverse this
accelerating trend
·
The condition of the
physical habitats in tributary streams and the associated streamside
environment (riparian zone) has been substantially altered by rural and urban
land use practices to the extent that less than 30% of the total stream
kilometers are still in their natural state.
Altered streams and streamside environments no longer function to reduce
nutrient loads and runoff volumes to the reaches. Also, altered streams no
longer provide healthy aquatic habitats for Rideau River Fish. An active program of stream restoration and
streamside vegetation plantings are necessary to improve these tributary
functions and restore the connection between the tributaries and the reaches
·
The “green ribbon” along both sides of the 4 reaches of the Lower
Rideau watershed, includes all of the public and private lands with frontage on
the reaches. Over time, the character
of these corridor lands has been changing as land uses on both private and
public lands have intensified. The
character of the shoreline has been changing as landowners have gradually
altered their backshores and shorelines to provide erosion protection or to
increase their use of their waterfront (docking facilities, clearing of
vegetation, filling of wetlands). Cottage conversions, rural estate development,
rural farming practices and intensifying parkland uses have also contributed to
changing the environmental functions of the corridor. Currently over 50% of the
shorelines and associated backshores have been modified and have lost their
natural character. The effect of this
change has been to reduce nearshore fish habitat and cause localized water
quality impairment (sediment, nutrient and bacteria loadings).