2008 Watershed Report Card Reporting on the Ecosystem Health of the Kawartha Conservation Watershed

2008 Watershed Report Card Reporting on the ecosystem health of the Kawartha Conservation watershed ershe Our watershed received an overall “B” average, based on surface l Wat d Grad ral e! water quality, wetlands and forests. The following pages show ve how we determined this grade. O B Abundant, clean water is the lifeblood of the Kawarthas, essential for our quality of life, health and The Kawartha Conservation watershed continued prosperity. It supplies our drinking water, maintains property values, sustains an agricultural industry, and is the basic infrastructure for a tourism-based economy focused around recreation. This watershed report card is designed to provide C Crystal A Lake basic information on the state of our watershed, on the NA D DI IEL land and waters that sustain our communities. It shows AN SH the results of watershed monitoring data collected over a number of years, indicating the current health of our CITY OF watershed and helping us to better protect and improve KAWARTHA LAKES our environment. N GALWAY - o Across the province, other conservation authorities g i CAVENDISH & e s are also completing watershed report cards, focusing on 49 HARVEY No CA Jurisdiction the priority areas of surface water, groundwater, wetland C H a r e cover and forest cover. w e k k M e a r Balsam Lake s r t i n C r e C e What is a watershed? r k e BOBCAYGEON e N Cameron k o 8 r A watershed is an area of land that drains to a common Lake t k h e FENELON e point such as a stream, river or lake. Rain, snow and other r h Pigeon C t FALLS u s o Lake n precipitation that falls within this area eventually drains to S r a e k the same place. 8 P e e r r C Conservation authorities, of which there are 36 e v i in Sturgeon rt 35 17 in Ontario, use watershed boundaries to help protect R a Lake s M e l 36 k p Ontario’s resources and environment. The Kawartha Lake Simcoe Region e a e t r Conservation watershed is a 2,563 square kilometre basin Conservation Authority S M C cLaren overlapped by six municipalities, each with representatives 9 s eek Cr y who sit on the Kawartha Conservation Board of Directors. il Em The six municipalities that govern Kawartha Conservation through representation on our Board of LINDSAY r Directors: BROCK e Otonabee Region v i 7 Conservation Authority R 7 k e 6 g 4 e OMEMEE • City of Kawartha Lakes r • Township of Galway- o g C u • Township of Scugog Cavendish &Harvey c 35 S ey • Municipality of • Township of Cavan M ariposa Brook Ston Clarington Monaghan L a y r • Township of Brock t e o CAVAN iv k n R e e k r MONAGHAN e C R e i r The highlights of our watershed are the five major n v C o e e r g lakes that form part of the Trent Severn Waterway. These i P Legend lakes, and the watercourses that flow into them, create s d s o Water Flow Direction Lake o o Canadian Shield r r w smaller drainage areas called subwatersheds. In most of C t Primary Roads e Scugog e v e Watershed Boundary SCUGOG i l F Trent Severn Waterway the following sections of this report card, we assign grades R TOWNSHIP t Lake Watersheds s Major Rivers to the subwatersheds to show which areas are doing well 2 a n Balsam Lake k E 7/12 e o e Major Lakes u r Cameron Lake and which require greater attention. C q n Major Towns Sturgeon Lake o The Kawartha Conservation watershed typically k N 7A Lake Scugog c Municipal Boundary o Pigeon Lake receives up to 880 millimetres of precipitation annually, t PORT s Oak Ridges Moraine k PERRY c with 160 to 180 millimetres of this being from snow. The a l lay of the land, or topography, influences the direction that B E AIN water flows across it, indicated by arrows on the map to OR S M GE the right. RID AK Ganaraska Region On the south side of the watershed, the Oak Ridges O Conservation Authority Moraine causes water to flow north into Lake Scugog and Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority CLARINGTON Pigeon Lake. Water in Lake Scugog continues north into Sturgeon Lake via the Scugog River. Lake. Water from Sturgeon Lake flows into Pigeon Lake and levels to minimize flooding and provide adequate water From the north side of the watershed, water flows off the Kawartha Lakes to the east, and finally into the Trent depth for boating and recreation. the Canadian Shield from the Gull and Burnt rivers into River. In the summer, an estimated additional 17,500 people Balsam and Cameron lakes. A small amount flows into the Trent-Severn Waterway (TSW), operated by Parks come to the Kawartha Conservation watershed to enjoy Lake Simcoe watershed through Balsam Lake, with the Canada, influences water levels using four locks and water many types of recreational opportunities, mainly water- majority of water flowing over Fenelon Falls into Sturgeon control structures within our watershed. TSW manages lake focused activities. Surface Water Quality: Lakes and Rivers Average Grades: Lakes: C Rivers: C What is it and why is it important? growth, higher water temperatures and less oxygen in the water. These factors combine to Surface water is the water that moves through reduce water quality and can impact recreational rivers and lakes. We looked at the levels of opportunities. nutrients and metals in these waters to assess their We also tested water samples for metals overall health. The black dots on the map indicate such as cadmium, lead, zinc, aluminum, cobalt surface water sampling locations. and iron. These metals in the water can pose Two of the main nutrients that we examined immediate and long-term health concerns to both were nitrogen and phosphorous. High levels humans and wildlife alike. contribute to excessive aquatic plant and weed Another indicator of surface water quality is bacteria in the form of E. coli. High LAKES levels of E. coli often prompt local beach Grade Total Phosphorous **CCME WQI CCME WQI closures. These bacteria may come from C (mg/L) Metals Score Nutrients Score leaky septic tanks, an overloaded sewage C * A 0 to .01 95 to 100 95 to 100 treatment plant, agricultural runoff, or even high numbers of waterfowl such as Canada B .0101 to .02 80 to 94 80 to 94 geese. E. coli data is collected through our C C .0201 to .03 65 to 79 65 to 79 Kawartha Water Watch program and by the C Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District D .0301 to .06 45 to 64 45 to 64 Health Unit. greater than .06 0 to 44 0 to 44 F Successes and opportunities RIVERS Surface water quality throughout the watershed can be improved. Lower grades Grade Total Phosphorous CCME WQI CCME WQI in the southern part of the watershed are (mg/L) Metals Score Nutrients Score often a result of high levels of phosphorous A 0 to .02 95 to 100 95 to 100 and nitrogen in the water. In the north, low grades are more often due to elevated B .0201 to .03 80 to 94 80 to 94 metals. C .0301 to .06 65 to 79 65 to 79 The water quality within our lakes is D .0601 to .1 45 to 64 45 to 64 influenced by the rivers flowing into them. F greater than .1 0 to 44 0 to 44 Maintaining the water quality of rivers and lakes requires good land-use practices on n/a Limited data C properties across the watershed. * The overall subwatershed grade was calculated by averaging the grade for phosphorous, metals and nutrients. Example: Phosphorous C, Metals B, Nutrients D produces an average grade of C. Sampling location ** The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Water Quality Index (CCME WQI) was developed by water quality . experts in Canada to provide a snapshot of water quality using complex technical data. Forest Cover Average Grade: B What is it and why is it important? forest remaining after a 100 metre border has been subtracted from any edge or defined break How we use the land can impact the health in the forest. of our ecosystem, including our rivers and lakes. Small, fragmented forests have smaller In urban areas, water can run across hard, 100 metres interiors. As a result, they impervious surfaces such as roads, parking lots and support fewer sensitive rooftops, and carry species of plants and animals Land use in the watershed automotive fluids, Interior Forest than larger, continuous Other pesticides and other forests. 2.66% pollutants directly We based the grades into rivers and lakes. 100 metres Forest on both the amount of total Agriculture 31.82% In agricultural areas, forest cover and the amount of interior forest. For 53.15% water can also run the scope of this report card, however, we did not across surfaces and consider forest health, including invasive species Wetland carry animal wastes and forest quality. 12.37% and other agricultural runoff into surrounding surface waters. Forests and other naturally vegetated areas Successes and opportunities help improve water quality by reducing erosion Subwatershed grades for forest cover and and filtering the water that passes through them. forest interior mainly ranged from “C” to “A,” with The significant forests in our watershed are only the Scugog River subwatershed receiving a indicated on the map in black.

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