Watershed Characterization

Ausable Bayfield & Maitland Valley Source Protection Region - Watershed Characterization Watershed Characterization Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Region Module 1 Version 1.1 March 2008 DRAFT REPORT FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE AUSABLE BAYFIELD MAITLAND VALLEY SOURCE PROTECTION COMMITTEE i Ausable Bayfield & Maitland Valley Source Protection Region - Watershed Characterization ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Authors Brian Luinstra Liz Snell Rick Steele Meredith Walker Mari Veliz Contributors Andrew Bicknell Susan Brocklebank Pat Donnelly Geoff King Kevin McKague Ausable Bayfield Conservation Staff Maitland Valley Conservation Staff Reviewers Ken Cornelisse, Ministry of Natural Resources Stan Denhoed, Harden Environmental Services Trevor Dickinson, University of Guelph, Engineering Department Steve Evans, Middlesex County Planning Department Doug Joy, University of Guelph, Department of Engineering Gary Palmateer, GAP Environmental Services Geoff Peach, Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation Susanna Reid, Huron County Planning Department Pamela Scharfe, Huron County Health Unit Paul Turnbull, Municipality of Lambton Shores Kelly Vader, B.M. Ross and Associates Ltd. Bob Worsell, Huron County Health Unit Conservation Ontario Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Committee ii Ausable Bayfield & Maitland Valley Source Protection Region - Watershed Characterization FORWARD At the meeting of March 26, 2008, the Source Protection Committee received this report. The reader should understand that this document was written in keeping with guidelines from the province and is intended for information only. The document acknowledges data gaps, and recounts historical information which may no longer reflect the current situation. The document does not form part of the Assessment Report. iii Ausable Bayfield & Maitland Valley Source Protection Region - Watershed Characterization INTRODUCTION The Clean Water Act, which received Royal Assent on October 19, 2006, is part of the Ontario government’s plan to implement recommendations from the Walkerton Inquiry and the O’Connor Report. Justice O’Connor concluded that a multi-barrier approach was the most effective method to prevent contamination from affecting drinking water. This approach includes taking action to prevent the contamination of sources of water, using adequate water treatment and distribution systems, water testing and training of water managers. The Clean Water Act sets out a framework to identify and assess risks to the quality and quantity of drinking water sources, and to rank these risks from those requiring immediate action, to those which require monitoring to prevent elevation to a higher risk, to those risks which are negligible. The legislation also mandates the development of a source protection plan which sets out how the risks will be addressed. The plan will be carried out through official plans and other planning or regulatory requirements. Any activity that poses a significant risk to a drinking water source may be prohibited or require a site specific risk management option. The Watershed Characterization for the Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Region is one of a set of modules that will help the local Source Protection Committee and regional working groups to prepare an Assessment Report and a source water protection plan. It is the aim of this document to compile information on the physical, sociological and economic characteristics of the Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley watersheds. Information will be updated as knowledge and data gaps are prioritized and filled, and used for other modules. It is anticipated that a Map Book will be produced in the future to include all the maps required for the Watershed Characterization, Conceptual Water Budget, Tier 1 Water Budget and other modules, and will encompass up-to-date data. iv Ausable Bayfield & Maitland Valley Source Protection Region - Watershed Characterization ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ABCA Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority ABMV Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley ACLA Ashfield Colborne Lakeshore Association BRFU Basin Runoff Forecasting Unit CA Conservation Authority CCME Canadian Councils of Ministers of the Environment CURB Clean Up Rural Beaches Program DWSP Drinking Water Source Protection IPZ Intake Protection Zone LHPWSS Lake Huron Primary Water Supply System LOWESS Logically weighted regression MOE (Ontario) Ministry of the Environment MNR (Ontario) Ministy of Natural Resources MVCA Maitland Valley Conservation Authority MYLOW My Land, Our Water Project OMAF RA Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs PGMN Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network PWQMN Provincial Water Quality Monitoring Network SPR Source Protection Region VA Vulnerable Areas WAT Water Action Team (Maitland Valley) WHPA Wellhead Protection Area WPSC Water Protection Steering Committee (Huron County) v Ausable Bayfield & Maitland Valley Source Protection Region - Watershed Characterization TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 1 1 WATERSHED DESCRIPTION 2 1.1 Overview of Source Protection Planning Region 2 1.1.1 Drinking Water Source Protection Planning Region 2 1.1.2 Stakeholders and Partners 4 1.1.2.1 Municipalities 4 1.1.2.2 Health Units 5 1.1.2.3 Interested and Engaged Stakeholders 6 1.1.2.4 Provincial Agencies 7 1.1.2.5 Federal Government 8 1.1.2.6 First Nations 9 1.1.2.7 Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) 10 1.2 Geological Setting 13 1.2.1 Bedrock Geology 13 1.2.2 Quaternary Geology 14 1.3 Hydrology 14 1.3.1 Watershed Form and Surface Hydrology 14 1.3.2 Climate 33 1.3.2.1 Climatic and Meteorological Trends 34 1.3.3 Groundwater and Hydrogeology 34 1.3.4 Surface – Groundwater Interactions 36 1.4 Natural Heritage 38 1.4.1 Wetlands and ANSIs 39 1.4.2 Terrestrial 42 1.5 Aquatic Ecology 44 1.5.1 Fisheries 45 1.5.2 Aquatic Macroinvertebrates 47 1.5.3 Species and Habitats at Risk 49 1.5.4 Invasive Species 51 1.6 Human Characterization 51 1.6.1 Population Distribution 52 1.6.1.1 Population Projections 55 1.6.2 Land Use 56 1.6.2.1 Existing Urban Development 56 1.6.2.2 New and Projected Urban Development 57 1.6.2.3 Industrial / Commercial Sectors Distribution 57 1.6.2.4 Trends in Industrial and Commercial Sectors 58 1.6.2.5 Agricultural Sector Distribution 58 1.6.2.6 Trends in Agriculture 59 1.6.2.7 Non Agricultural Rural Land Uses and Trends 60 1.6.2.7.1 Aggregates 60 1.6.2.7.2 Cottage Development 60 1.6.2.7.3 Forestry Operations 61 vi Ausable Bayfield & Maitland Valley Source Protection Region - Watershed Characterization 1.6.2.7.4 Protected Areas 61 1.6.2.7.5 Brownfields 61 1.6.2.7.6 Landfills 62 1.6.2.7.7 Oil and Gas 62 1.6.2.7.8 Transportation 62 1.6.2.7.9 Wastewater Treatment 63 1.6.3 Water Uses and Values 65 1.6.3.1 Drinking Water Sources 66 1.6.3.1.1 Municipal wells 66 1.6.3.1.2 Communal Wells 66 1.6.3.1.3 Private groundwater supplies 67 1.6.3.1.4 Surface water intakes 67 1.6.3.2 Recreational Water Use 69 1.6.3.3 Ecological Water Use 71 1.6.3.4 Agricultural Water Use 71 1.6.2.5 Industrial Water Use 72 1.7 Watershed monitoring strategies and programs 72 1.8 Water Quality 74 1.8.1 General Overview of Surface Water Quality 74 1.8.2 General Overview of Groundwater Quality 75 1.9 Watershed Description Knowledge and Data Gaps 76 1.10 References 80 Appendix A: Climate Normals (1971-2000) Measures at Long-Term AES Stations in the Ausable Bayfield- Maitland Planning Region 89 Appendix B: Municipal Restructuring of the six counties within the source protection planning region (Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing 2006). 91 Appendix C: Watershed-Specific Summary of Surface Water Quality from Available Documents 95 Appendix D: List of WC Maps in Accompanying Map Book 99 CHAPTER 2 100 2 WATER QUALITY 101 2.0 Background 101 2.0.1 Indicators 104 2.1 Methodology 109 2.1.1 Surface Water 109 2.1.1.1 Data Collection Programs 110 2.1.1.2 Scan of Potential Water Quality Issues 111 2.1.1.3 Temporal Changes 112 2.1.1.4 Temporal Trends 113 2.1.1.5 Spatial Trends 114 2.1.2 Groundwater 117 2.1.2.1 Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network 118 2.1.2.1 Municipal groundwater supplies 118 vii Ausable Bayfield & Maitland Valley Source Protection Region - Watershed Characterization 2.2 Results 119 2.2.1 River 119 2.2.1.1 Scan of data – all indicators with standards 119 2.2.1.2 Temporal Trends 122 2.2.1.3 Spatial Trends 135 2.2.1.4 Riverine Water Quality Summary 138 2.2.2 Lake Huron 138 2.2.2.1 Temporal Trends 138 2.2.2.2 Lake Huron Intake Summary 144 2.2.3 Groundwater 144 2.2.3.1 Overburden Aquifers 144 2.2.3.2 Bedrock Aquifers 148 2.2.3.3 Groundwater Quality Summary 153 2.3 Microbial Source and Raw Water Characterization 154 2.4 Discussion 155 2.5 Implications for Source Water Protection – Municipal 156 2.6 Water Quantity 157 2.7 Knowledge and Data Gaps 157 2.8 References 160 Appendix A: Historic PWQMN summary data and graphs for chloride, copper, nitrate, total phosphorus, residue particulate, fecal coliform and E. coli 161 Appendix B: Selected Historic PWQNM sites with Different or Significant Trends 210 Appendix C: Spatial Trend Statistical Graphs (2001-2005) – nitrate, total phosphorus and E. coli 212 Appendix D: Catalogue of WC Maps in the Accompanying Map Book 216 CHAPTER 3 217 3 VULNERABLE AREAS 218 3.1 Vulnerable Areas to Groundwater Resources 218 3.1.1 Well Head Protection Areas (WHPA) 219 3.1.1.1 Surface to Well Advection Time (SWAT) Well Head Protection Areas 221 3.1.2 Intrinsic Susceptibility Index and Aquifer Vulnerability Index 222 3.1.3 MOE Groundwater Susceptibility Mapping 224

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