Richmond Village Association Inc. Minutes A Proud Past, a Bright Future General Meeting, December 4, 2014, held at the Richmond Public Library

1. The meeting opened with a warm welcome and a thank you for coming to all in attendance by President Tino Bevacqua at 1903 hrs.

2. Announcements – Mr. Bevacqua: a. This is the last RVA General Meeting to be held in Richmond’s Public Library. Starting in February, the RVA’s Annual General Meetings and subsequent General Meetings will be held at Richmond’s Community Centre from 2000 – 2130 hrs. Meetings at the Community Centre will alleviate the limited parking facilities at the library and allow for handicapped accessibility. b. On Saturday, December 6, 2014, the RVA’s Santa Claus parade will start from South Carleton High School at 1600 hrs and end at Richmond’s Community Centre. Chilli will be served in the Community Hall on the second floor followed by the Lighting in the Park at 1730 hrs, with cookies and hot chocolate being available in the park. In addition, the winning winter banners and their artists will also be present to join with Santa Claus in singing Christmas carols etc. c. January 6, 2015 will be the last RVA General Meeting for this fiscal year. It will be held at La Casa Di Zia Mia Restaurant, 3518 McBean Street at 1900 hrs. It is the RVA’s Community Appreciation Evening; i.e. a party for Richmond’s volunteers. Everyone is invited. The RVA will be providing cheese plates, finger foods, and non-alcoholic beverages for attendees. A cash bar will also be available.

3. The evening’s speakers were introduced by Mr. Bevacqua: Ms. Jennifer Lamoureux, an aquatic and fish habitat biologist with the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA); Ms. Kristy Gilles from the RVCA who is responsible for managing the Richmond Conservation Areas and Ms. Brenda Rabb of Rabb Construction Ltd., which is based in Richmond. Each would address various aspects of the recently completed fish habitat embayment project along the Jock River near where Col. Murray Street intersects Royal York St. a. Ms. Lamoureux – provided background information starting with the RVCA’s watershed reporting framework. The RVCA’s mandate is for clean water, healthy shorelines and sustainable land use. Monitoring the environmental conditions within the RVCA’s watersheds identifies trends over time which allows the RVCA to focus its actions where the most good can be achieved while concurrently evaluating the effectiveness of its watershed policy and programs. The RVCA currently has six watersheds for which it is responsible (i.e. Jock River, Kemptville Creek, Lower Rideau, Middle , Rideau Lake and Tay River), with each watershed being evaluated once every six years. The key indicators of sub-watershed health are: 1) water quality; 2) water levels; 3) forests; and 4) riparian/in- stream conditions. The 2010 Jock River Sub-water Report, which was handed out at the beginning of the meeting, focused on four themes: 1) surface water quality – Monahan () and Kings Creek (Dwyer Hill/Propsect) catchment areas are poor; 2) forest cover – in urban areas such as the Barrhaven catchment area, <20% is covered with forest (average for is >30%), Richmond is 20-30% forested with Kings Creek catchment area having 44% forest coverage, forestation for the upper Jock River is good and the RVCA helps with reforestation within its watersheds; 3) wetland cover – ranges from 47% in the Richmond Fens drainage area to less than 1% in Barrhaven, with an overall average of 20%, and 4) riparian cover – current objective is to maintain a vegetated buffer of 30-meters on each

1

Richmond Village Association Inc. Minutes A Proud Past, a Bright Future side of waterways, the current average is 57% across the Jock River catchments and comprise grassland (8%), forest cover (17%), and wetland (32%), with the remainder being crop/pastureland, (29%), settlement (8%) and roads (6%). b. b. Ms. Gilles – presented the Richmond Conservation Area Management Plan Objectives (2011), whose goals are to: 1) manage the natural area to perform natural functions – the area around the boat ramp off Royal York St., prior to the installation of the embayment project, led to enhanced flooding and erosion; 2) improve fish habitat – while an embayment project has been a goal for several years, it was put on hold until sustained funding was available. Received grants from several external sources (RVCA, Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation, Fisheries and Oceans – recreational fisheries conservation partnerships program, Shell fuelling change (sic), Muskies Canada – Chapter, National Defense Headquarters Fish and Game Club, Community Foundation of Ottawa, Environment Canada – EcoAction, Ottawa Flyfishers Society, Fendock). 3) manage natural areas for natural appreciation and outdoor experience - phase in such passive projects as – walkable trails, picnic area (possible covered picnic area in future) and a kayak dock will be installed next spring, but must be removed each year to prevent ice damage; 4) provide demonstration areas for public education – embayment area has educational signage. Hoping to involve students in studying changes the embayment project has on fauna and flora. 5) manage conservation areas for conservation programming and projects. Why an embayment project? 1) Improving the function of adjacent riverine wetland habitats for aquatic species which are considered to be rare in this reach of the Jock River, as identified in the 2010 Jock River Watershed Report. The grassy area adjacent to the Jock River in the embayment area was degrading and only constituted a small wetland area. It was noted that the crown owns the river, while the RVCA owns from the shoreline up. 2) Enhanced fish habitat by creating new spawning, nursery, rearing and feeding habitat for the Jock River fish community. The embayment area will add 1,000 sq. meters of fish habitat and specifically targets muskie and northern pike. 3) Improve shoreline stability and water quality by re-grading the existing slope and planting a shoreline buffer around the perimeter of the new embayment feature. 4) Improving shoreline stability will enhance the food supply for aquatic and terrestrial species through increasing overhanging vegetation along the new shoreline. 5) Create a quiet backwater area adjacent to the main current of the Jock River; i.e. rock clusters were added for the protection of young fish, logs will protrude into the water so that turtles can bask in the sun, which aids in their digestion, wood in the water is associated with muskie spawning, etc.; 6) Provide winter and summer refuge areas for fish. 7) Altering elevations within the embayment will create conditions more suitable for diverse submergent and emergent aquatic vegetation. 8) Enhanced recreational opportunities at the site by constructing a pathway and installing a dock. 9) Enhance natural environment educational opportunities by installing educational signage explaining the purpose of the project. 10) Engage and educate community members by involving volunteers in the process and provide a demonstration site that shows a variety of cost-effective methods to protect and enhance shorelines and wildlife habitats. 11) Partnership opportunities with various angling groups and the Conservation Authority. The embayment’s timelines: October 2012 through April 2014 – fundraising (80K). October through December 2012 – dissolved oxygen and water temperature sampling. April 2013 through April 2014 – monitor water levels during spring freshet. June 2013 – bathymetry survey across the Jock River. July through August 2013 – monitoring of Jock River nursery. May 2014 – information day with project partners which drew 55 – 60 people. April through July 2014 – preparation of detailed design. August 2014 – obtain Ministry of Natural Resources and RVCA permits. October 2014 – installation of geotextile sheets/silt curtain to keep eroded soil within dredged area and to ensure no hibernating species settled into those locations pre- construction. A combination of amphibians and fish were

2

Richmond Village Association Inc. Minutes A Proud Past, a Bright Future removed from the work zone once the silt curtain was installed. Species removed included: yellow bullhead, rock bass, banded killifish, mottled sculpin, common shiner, leopard frog and tadpoles. Construction of embayment and shoreline plantings to be started and completed. Spring 2015 – additional shoreline and aquatic plantings. 2015-2017-2019 – measure success by monitoring the effectiveness of the embayment project.

The “Evolution of an embayment”: The Jock River habitat Embayment Creation Project created 1000m² of new spawning, nursery, rearing and feeding habitat to support the 40 species of fish that reside in the Jock River. Construction took place over 9 days in October, 2014. Approximately 108 truckloads of fill were removed from the regulatory floodplain of the Jock River. Approximately 100m of new shoreline was created by re-grading the existing slope and planting a shoreline buffer around the perimeter of the new embayment. Many volunteers spent 294 hours participating in the construction of the embayment. The response of Richmond residents to the project has been quite positive. c. Ms. Rabb – Rabb Construction Ltd. had not previously built an embayment. Several changes were made in the original design to reduce costs, with all members of the operation team contributing their expertise. The construction started right after the Richmond weir was removed which lowered the water level by 30 cm. There was a gas line near where the embayment was to be installed which required Enbridge Gas to identify the exact location of the pipe for the safety of those involved in the project. There was a requirement for a 1 meter clearance from the gas line, but the embayment was moved further downstream to enhance safety of the construction personnel. Removed approximately 1000 cubic meters of material from the embayment. The tricky part was letting the water back in without causing an undue amount of erosion. Near the lowest part of the embayment was a black organic layer which was saved to cover the clay, sand and fill which was located above it. There will be a lot of shrubs in the area to encourage turtles and water fowl to spend time in the embayment area. There will be an island in the middle of the embayment to encourage water fowl to nest, where Manitoba Maples and other trees will be planted to shade the water. 120 shrubs were planted but expect about 30% will die off before next spring and have to be replaced. It was noted that there are two embayment areas in Chapman Mills, paid for by the developer since the developer destroyed wildlife habitat area. Despite the fact that there are no trees in this embayment area, the RVCA is still quite pleased with its results.

4. Following a Q & A session, Mr. Bevacqua adjourned the meeting at 2026 hrs.

Respectfully submitted,

Doug Arnold

3