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 2

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 3

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) 4

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 5

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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) 7

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 oxygen) • Six stations sampled for metals (intensive urban and agricultural land use areas) 8

PWQMN Map 9

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?” 10

Benthic Map 11

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 of groundwater discharge (and recharge) • Fish community monitoring – to assess impacts of development and stewardship; to identify shifts in species populations (i.e. brook trout) 12

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 13

PWQMN Map 14

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 15

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 16

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 of 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. 17

Thank You!