NVCA Watershed Monitoring Program NVCA Board of Directors, March 24, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

NVCA Watershed Monitoring Program

NVCA Board of Directors, March 24, 2017

David Featherstone, Manager, Watershed Monitoring Program

Pr esen t a t i o n Ou t l i n e

• Staffing/ Program Support
• Natural Heritage Plan Input and Review
• Regulation Input and Review
• Aquatic and Terrestrial Monitoring
• Communications

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Wa t er sh ed Mo n i t o r i n g Pr o g r a m

Staffing and NVCA Program Support

• Manager (full time) – David Featherstone
• Watershed Monitoring Specialist (full time) – Ian

Ockenden

• 6 Month Contract
• Summer/ Co-op Staff (non-levy

funding/ volunteer)

• Program provides support (science) for all non-

administrative NVCA program areas

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Na t u r a l He r i t a g e Pl a n I n p u t a n d Re v i e w

(Technical Advisory Role)

• Provincial planning input (Wetland Discussion Paper)
• Broader scale municipal planning input (Official Plan,

Secondary Plan)

• Finer scale municipal planning input (Draft Plans, Consents,

Severances)

• Environmental Assessment input (Transportation and Servicing

EAs)

• Review of stormwater planting, mitigation planting plans
• Often working with proponents/ municipalities to identify/ scope

Environmental Impact Study requirements, provision of EIS review

• Municipal support (upon request) for planning applications at

the Ontario Municipal Board and similar venues

• Municipal natural heritage system development – Collingwood

(2011), Wasaga Beach (2005), Essa (2004) and New Tecumseth (2004)

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Reg u l a t i o n I n p u t a n d Rev i ew

(Permit/ Regulatory Role under Section 28 of the Conservation Authorities Act (Ontario Regulation 172/ 06))

• review of wetland, watercourse and dynamic beach

aspects of permit applications

• can include wetland boundary delineation
• Review and resolution of violations associated with

above features including preparation/ review of restoration plans and assistance with charges/ court cases

• Ongoing wetland boundary refinement based on site

inspections, consultant reports and broader efforts (Collingwood, Mono, Innisfil) – best science

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NVCA Aq u a t i c Mo n i t o r i n g Pr o g r a m

• Provincial Water Quality Monitoring Network

(MOECC partnership – surface water)

• E. coli monitoring
• Benthic monitoring
• Instream flow monitoring
• Fish community monitoring
• Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network

(MOECC partnership – Ryan Post)

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Pr o v i n ci a l Wa t e r Qu a l i t y Mo n i t o r i n g Ne t w o r k ( PW QMN)

• 18 stations sampled six to ten times/ year

(8 stations X 10, 10 stations X 6)

• Targeted to seasonal baseflow (low flow) and

storm events

• All stations sampled for nutrients and standard

chemistry (i.e. pH, conductivity, dissolved

• xygen)
• Six stations sampled for metals (intensive urban

and agricultural land use areas)

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PWQMN Map

Ben t h i c Mo n i t o r i n g

• Benthic invertebrates are the animals that live in the sediments and

among the plants and rocks on the bottom of a stream or lake

• Aquatic insects, leeches, crayfish, snails, clams
• Cornerstone of NVCA aquatic monitoring program since 1996
• We sample stream benthos (bugs) to assess stream health
• Abundant, widespread
• Easily, inexpensively sampled
• Limited mobility – (unlike fish)
• Relatively long lived (months to years)
• Have different tolerances to stressors
• Respond to both water and sediment chemistry
• “What are long term stream health trends?”
• “Is development impacting our streams?”
• “Are our stewardship activities effective?”

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Benthic Map

Ot h e r Aq u a t i c Mo n i t o r i n g Co m p o n e n t s

• Instream temperature monitoring – to identify

cold, cool and warmwater habitats; identify impacts/ benefits of development and stewardship

• Flow monitoring – to assist NVCA Engineering

with flow rating curves, identify significant areas

• f groundwater discharge (and recharge)
• Fish community monitoring – to assess impacts
• f development and stewardship; to identify

shifts in species populations (i.e. brook trout)

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Pr o v i n ci a l Gr o u n d w a t e r Mo n i t o r i n g Ne t w o r k

• MOECC partnership led by Ryan Post
• Tracking water levels in ambient wells over time

(potential climate change indicator)

• Tracking water quality in wells and informing

landowners/ municipalities of exceedances including interpretation of exceedance results

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PWQMN Map

Ter r est r i a l Mo n i t o r i n g

• Small component of program focused on NVCA

properties as capacity allows

• Breeding bird monitoring (Tiffin and Minesing)

assists with property management and feeds into established provincial monitoring

• Assistance with NVCA Lands acquisition process

and property management (Minesing Wetlands, Notttawasaga Bluffs, Tiffin)

• Invasive species monitoring/ management

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Co m m u n i ca t i o n s

• Watershed Report Cards/ Health Checks
• Initiated in 2007 with update in 2013 and planned update

for 2018

• Reporting to public – aimed at reporting on watershed

forest, wetland, stream and groundwater health; also a vehicle for promoting watershed stewardship activities

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Wa t e r sh e d Mo n i t o r i n g Pr o g r a m Su m m a r y W atershed Science supporting:

• Planning/ Regs – natural heritage input and review, contribution to

natural heritage system development, monitoring potential impacts associated with land use change

• Engineering – flow rating curve development, flow measurement, water

chemistry input to modeling

• Stewardship – identification of “best bet” projects, monitoring success
• f stewardship projects (lessons learned)
• Lands – input to property acquisition and property management
• Communications – reporting on watershed health and stewardship

action OUR VISION:

• Innovative watershed management supporting a healthy environment,

communities and lifestyles. OUR MISSION:

• Working together to lead, promote, support and inspire innovative

watershed management.

Thank You!