Lake Simcoe: Chapter 2 Watershed Characterization
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Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching-Black River SPA Part 1 Approved Assessment Report CHAPTER 2: WATERSHED CHARACTERIZATION TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 WATERSHED CHARACTERIZATION ..................................................................... 4 2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Watershed and Subwatershed Boundaries ................................................... 6 2.3 Physical and Natural Geography .................................................................... 7 2.3.1 Natural Vegetation – wetlands, woodlands and riparian areas. ................... 7 2.3.2 Surface Water Quality.................................................................................. 8 2.3.3 Groundwater Quality .................................................................................. 10 2.3.4 Aquatic Habitats – fisheries and macroinvertebrate communities ............. 14 2.3.4.1 Fish Communities ............................................................................... 15 2.3.4.2 Macroinvertebrate Communities ......................................................... 18 2.4 Human Geography – population and land use ............................................ 19 2.4.1 Population and Municipal Boundaries ....................................................... 19 2.4.2 Land use .................................................................................................... 20 2.4.2.1 Areas of Settlement ............................................................................. 22 2.4.2.2 Impervious Surfaces ........................................................................... 22 2.4.2.3 Agriculture and the Raising of Livestock ............................................. 23 2.4.2.4 Managed Lands .................................................................................. 25 2.5 Drinking Water Systems ................................................................................ 25 2.6 Interaction between Physical and Human Geography ................................ 32 2.7 Data and Knowledge Gaps ............................................................................ 33 Chapter 2: Watershed Characterization 1 Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching-Black River SPA Part 1 Approved Assessment Report List of Tables Table 2-1: Drainage Area of subwatersheds in the Lake Simcoe Watershed. (Data Source: LSRCA) .............................................................................................................. 6 Table 2-2: Natural Heritage Community Types within the Lake Simcoe Watershed (Data Source: LSRCA) .............................................................................................................. 8 Table 2-3: Surface Water Quality Summary for the Lake Simcoe Watershed (Data Source: LSRCA) ............................................................................................................ 10 Table 2-4: PGMN Water Quality (2004-2008) (Data Source: LSRCA and PGMN) ....... 12 Table 2-5: Fish species caught in the Lake Simcoe watershed from 1955 to 2008 (Data Source: OMNR, 2009). .................................................................................................. 16 Table 2-6: Fish Communities in each thermal regime from 2005 through to 2007 (Source: LSRCA) .......................................................................................................... 18 Table 2-7: Benthic Communities in different thermal regimes from 2004 to 2007 (Data Source: LSRCA (2004-2007)) ....................................................................................... 19 Table 2-8: Municipal population and population density (Data Source: Statistics Canada, Census 2006) ................................................................................................................ 20 Table 2-9: Land use in the Lake Simcoe Watershed (Data source: LSRCA) ................ 21 Table 2-10: Livestock density within Lake Simcoe Watershed census consolidated subdivisions. Only those CCS regions with available data are presented. (Data source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census). ................................................................................. 24 Table 2-11: Drinking Water Systems and the legislation they are protected under ....... 26 Table 2-12: Municipal Drinking Water Systems in the Lake Simcoe Watershed ........... 28 Chapter 2: Watershed Characterization 2 Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching-Black River SPA Part 1 Approved Assessment Report List of Figures Figure 2-1: South Georgian Bay-Lake Simcoe Source Protection Region. ................... 34 Figure 2-2: Lake Simcoe Watershed and Subwatershed Boundaries and Municipality Boundaries. ................................................................................................................... 35 Figure 2-3: Location of Natural Vegetative Cover in the Lake Simcoe Watershed. ....... 36 Figure 2-4: Groundwater and Surface Water Monitoring Stations. ................................ 37 Figure 2-5: Location and Types of Aquatic Habitat in the Lake Simcoe Watershed. ..... 38 Figure 2-6: Location and Condition of Aquatic Invertebrates in the Lake Simcoe Watershed. .................................................................................................................... 39 Figure 2-7: Municipal Population Density in the Lake Simcoe Watershed. ................... 40 Figure 2-8: Areas of Land Use within the Lake Simcoe Watershed. ............................. 41 Figure 2-9: Areas of Settlement and Land Owner in the Lake Simcoe Watershed. ...... 42 Figure 2-10: Impervious Areas in the Lake Simcoe Watershed. ................................... 43 Figure 2-11: Location and Density of Livestock in the Lake Simcoe Watershed. .......... 44 Figure 2-12: Managed Lands in the Lake Simcoe Watershed. ...................................... 45 Figure 2-13: Drinking Water System – Intakes, Supply Wells and Monitoring Wells – in the Lake Simcoe Watershed. ........................................................................................ 46 Figure 2-14: Non-Municipal Drinking Water Systems in the Lake Simcoe Watershed. 47 Chapter 2: Watershed Characterization 3 Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching-Black River SPA Part 1 Approved Assessment Report 2 WATERSHED CHARACTERIZATION 2.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter provides a brief background on the characteristics of the Lake Simcoe watershed, including the natural, human and physical features and their interactions. The chapter concludes by summarizing drinking water systems in the Lake Simcoe watershed, as a prelude to the more in-depth assessment presented in Chapters 6 to 13. Watershed characteristics related to hydrologic and hydrogeologic conditions are presented in the following chapter (Chapter 3; Conceptual Water Budget). Understanding the characteristics of the Lake Simcoe watershed is essential in understanding how quality and quantity of drinking water is affected by both human and natural interactions. The large geography covered by the Lake Simcoe watershed is quite diverse in terms of population density, economy, and land use. Human characteristics across the watershed vary from the densely populated urban centers of Barrie, Aurora and Newmarket to the west and south, to the prominent agricultural communities in most other areas. Despite over 400,000 people living in the watershed, natural heritage features are the largest single land use in the watershed, including large tracks of wetlands (e.g. in the Black River subwatershed) and woodlands. The information presented in this chapter represents only a small fraction of information related to the Lake Simcoe watershed in numerous reports produced by the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (e.g. LSRCA 2007, 2004), and as such readers are directed to these reports for a more detailed assessment. Furthermore, Part II of the MOE Assessment Report Technical Rules (MOE, 2008a) clearly states what information is required in this chapter, where the information is available. This chapter includes all of the information required by the Technical Rules. In general, watershed characterization, and the conceptual water budget provided in the following chapter, is described as a ‘drinking water focused’ watershed plan, comprised of five main components as outlined in the schematic below. It must be noted however, that the information provided in this watershed characterization is not used to determine Issues and Threats to specific municipal drinking water systems – see the municipal vulnerability and threats chapters (Chapters 6-13) for details on individual drinking water systems. Chapter 2: Watershed Characterization 4 Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching-Black River SPA Part 1 Approved Assessment Report Watershed Boundaries Delineates the area within the watershed, encompassing both the natural and human Water Budget features Physical Describes the Geography movement of water Describes the natural through the hydrologic features in the cycle and quantifies the watershed, how they amount of water flowing have changed over time through the Source and the interactions that Protection Region occur CHARACTERIZATION Drinking Water Natural Geography Systems and Ecology Details the location and Depicts the flora and fauna population served by present within the municipal and non- watershed, highlighting municipal wells, as well as important details, such as the pumping rates the current status of habitats Chapter 2: Watershed Characterization 5 Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching-Black