What We Heard: Public Engagement Meetings for the Cooks-Devils Integrated Watershed Management Plan
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What We Heard: Public Engagement Meetings for the Cooks-Devils Integrated Watershed Management Plan INTRODUCTION In March 2010, the Province of Manitoba designated the Cooks Creek Conservation District (CCCD) as the Watershed Planning Authority for the Cooks-Devils Watershed. This designation granted the CCCD the authority to create an integrated watershed management plan (IWMP) for the Cooks-Devils Watershed (Figure 1). Figure 1: Cooks-Devils Watershed 1 Early in the planning process, the CCCD formed a Project Management Team (PMT) to guide development of the Cooks-Devils IWMP. The Project Management Team includes: Neil Van Ryssel (Chair) Cooks Creek Conservation District Gary Brown (Vice Chair) Rural Municipality of Springfield Marc Ross Cooks Creek Conservation District Colin Gluting Cooks Creek Conservation District Nathan McCorrister Peguis First Nation Lawrence Morris Rural Municipality of East St Paul Glen Basarowich Rural Municipality of St Clements Melvin Rattai Rural Municipality of Brokenhead Bill Heather Rural Municipality of Tache Robin Beukens Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship PUBLIC MEETINGS One of the first steps in the development of the plan was to hold public meetings to discuss what residents of the watershed value within the planning area. Five public meetings were held in February and March 2013: East Selkirk (February 25) Garson (March 4), East St Paul (March 5), Ste Genevieve (March 6) and Dugald (March 12). A total of 104 watershed residents participated. Location Number of Participants East Selkirk 14 Garson 17 East St Paul 7 Ste Genevieve 28 Dugald 38 The discussions from these meetings are reported in this document and will provide direction to the PMT on the scope and priorities of the integrated watershed management plan. Participants were asked to indicate what they considered to be the most important issues in the Cooks-Devils watershed and to identify assets, threats, and potential solutions related to these issues. SUMMARY OF RESULTS Surface water management, including flooding, drainage, and water retention, emerged as the most important issue to people in the watershed. Groundwater quality was the second most important issue, as most residents of the watershed are dependent on groundwater as their source of drinking water. Natural areas, particularly wetlands, were also a concern. Surface water quality of lakes and rivers was also mentioned by participants. 2 Table 1 outlines the priority issues, as well as, the assets and threats that were identified by watershed residents (Issues are in priority order, assets and threats are not). Table 1: Cooks-Devils Watershed Priority Issues, Assets and Threats Priority Issues Assets Threats Surface Water • Agricultural crops • Poorly maintained Management • Residential property drains • Infrastructure • Loss of wetlands • Groundwater quality • Extreme weather • Ceremonial lands events • Peat mining • Development Ground Water Quality • Clean drinking water • Gravel pits • Aquifer • Land fills • Groundwater water • Lack of source water quality and quantity protection • Abandoned wells • Septic systems • Agricultural runoff Natural Areas • Wetlands • Peat mining • Forests • Development • Riparian areas • Pollution • Fish • Drainage • Wildlife • Land clearing • Traditional Territories • Invasive species • Poor water quality • Erosion • Manitoba Hydro Lake Winnipeg lake level Surface Water Quality • Lake Winnipeg • Flooding • Clean rivers and • Drainage creeks • Siltation • Netley-Libau Marsh • Agricultural runoff • Lagoons and septic systems • Loss/Degradation of riparian zones • Loss of wetlands • Landfills 3 Flooding, drainage, Drinking water Natural areas Surface water quality Land use and development retention ID Meeting Location ES East Selkirk Hall G Garson Hall ESP East St Paul RM Office SG Ste Genevieve Hall D Dugald Hall Cooks-Devils Public Meetings - Group Responses Priority Issue 1 ID Issue Assets to Protect Threats Solutions Ceremonial grounds, Increased Lake Winnipeg Build dykes/higher roads to hunting and level, winds from Lake protect important lands, wetland ES1 Flooding trapping, medicines, Winnipeg, invasive species, restoration, removal of invasive residential, wildlife, habitat loss, erosion species (carp) Netley-Libau Marsh Peat moss mining, animal Sealing abondoned wells, buffer ES2 Drinking Water Quality and quantity Ops, use of chemical zones, sewage systems pesticides, overland floods Over development, RMs not enforcemnt of bylwas, Management of waste - human Contamination sewage disposal, lagoons, and animal, limit development - of Drinking agricultural flooding - ES3 Safe drinking water sub-divisions, increased Water (aquifer, nutrients, Winnipeg, accountability/openess, sealing individual wells) animal waste, landfills, old wells industries - metal, chemicals - household Regulated drainage, water Healthy drinking volume, buffer zones, G1 Water quality Pollution, urban and farm water coordination between organizations Livelihood, family, Stop draining wetlands, water Human population, G2 Drinking water future generations, treatment plants, less chemicals, pollution waterways development, educate Crops, homes, Maintain drains, water retention, G3 Drainage Heavy rains, poor drains riparian areas better planning Study to investigate Groundwater groundwater contamination in contamination, geese, Groundwater - Silver Fox (Silver Springs Park), Drinking water, fertilizer (nutrients), gravel contamination, wildlife management (beavers ESP1 aquifer, recharge pits, surface water algae, becoming worse and geese), public education for areas beavers destroying over time nutrient levels, provincial habitat, oil, chemicals from regulation enforcement, protect old vehicles recharge areas, bufferzones Clean Fish Creek, remove Homes, land, wells, Blocked waterways, SG1 Flooding beavers and dams, From #41 to farm industry vegetation, beaver dams #12 blocked Overland flooding - water coming from elsewhere, Homes, properties, ditch and drainage connectivity - roads - maintenance must More converstaion between the need to be able improve, lack of proper province/munipcal, cut the red to get to and from SG2 Flood control communication to tape, better communication to your home, costs of residents: when they may residence - mailer newspaper, maintaing to save cut of a road - also affects phone. peoples homes, transportation - communication emergency vehicles/school buses Increasing culvert to standard Private property, size, restriction of buidling farmland, Ste. permits on unsuitable land, Overland Safety, property values, Genevieve, regular maintenance of SG3 flooding/drainag control insect levels, loss municipal roads, municipal drains, restriction of e of land quality quality of life, peat gravel companies, follow livestock through regardless of political changes Funding (Hwy 12), beavers, Drainage Drainage work, increase drain SG4 Crops planned urban (planned) and culvert size, retention ponds development Overland Better drainage, inter CD work flooding - Homes, commecial Loss of trees, loss of use, on drainage, issues, destroy SG5 beaver dams property, money, disease, standing water beaver dams, limit mining near and peat moss insurance claims built up areas mining Cleaning drains in order (north before south), Increase riparian areas to prevent bank from Improper drainage, ditches Homes, agriculture, eroding, clear ice dams at to deep, clogged culverts, D1 Flooding natural habitat, bridges, water retention areas, snow dump, ice dams at roads, infrastructure divert southeast corner to Cooks bridges, beaver dams Creek diversion floodway, lower on remove weir at junction of Cooks Creek Diversion Residential, Ag lands, Surface Water Agricultural, urban Cedar lake, restore water D2 aquifer, human Management drainage retention, drainage enforcement health, land values Residential, Loss of wetlands, major Best development practices, best D3 Drainage agricultural land, run off event, failed farming practices, maintenance source water infrastructure plan, retention area Reduce flows, planning, Drainage D4 Homes, crops Funding, beavers removing dams, wetland (planned) consolidation, diversion Surface Farmers crop, farm Clean and maintain current D5 Drainage Heavy reains yards ditches (summer) Master plan - sustainably. Strategically stagger mowing to protect plants - no mowing when flowers are in bloom. Priority action action plan for ditches. Lack of action, protect the Drainage and Natural streams and Surface water management plan. D6 wetlands on the marginal water retention creeks, ditch clearing Strategic planning. Maintenance land, funding plans. Need dollars for actions. Retire marginal lands - conservation reserve lands, EG&S programs, annual payments. Loss of buffer zones, gravel Quality of Aquifer Enforce regulations, engage Protection of extraction, dredging, and its sustainability hydrogeologist (see bylaw #11- D7 groundwater landfills (decommissioned (quality and 293), use monitoring and testing and its sources and active), agricultural quantity) of sites runoff Proper well construction, seal abandoned wells, inventory of wells, proper waste water management (lagoons), limit Surface and Ground PMT1 Water Quality development in swamps, Water responsible development - follows guidelines and plans, protect existing wetlands, rehabilitate wetlands Land use planning, drainage Agriculture, potable PMT2 Water Quality licensing, adequate funding, water source water protection Flooding, drainage, Drinking water - 8 retention - 13 Flooding,