Gull Lake - Lake Plan February 2015 Acknowledgements Prepared by: The Gull Lake - Lake Plan Steering Committee, consisting of: • Mike Thorne - Committee Chair • Don Drouillard - GLCA Lake Steward • Bruce McClennan-Water Resource Specialist • Richard Newman - GLCA Vice President • Larry Clarke - Councillor, Township of Minden Hills • With assistance from French Planning Services Inc. (Randy French and Julia Sutton) Sponsored by: • Gull Lake Cottagers Association and the generous donations and volunteer time of many individuals. Special thanks to: The following people that helped to gather and present background information for various Sections of this Report: • Heather Reid Past Executive Director, U-Links • Emily Grubb (U-links, Trent University, research project) • Don Drouillard (interpretation of data) • Helga Sonnenberg (in-depth study of lake water and source water, benthics, water quality, and toxicology) • Glen Bonham and David Flowers (fish community) • Dave Bonham (Light Pollution) • Bill Chambers (invasive species and climate change) • Marilyn Hagerman (Lake History) • Don Bell (Boating) • Kathy Hamilton (Physical Elements • Bill Lett (Land Development) • Carol McClennan (Land Use) Also a Special Thanks to Maxxam Laboratories for their analysis of the Benthic and Chemical samples and to Stantec Environmental Consultants for the interpretation of the benthic samples. Also a special thanks to Glen Bonham for his detailed review of the draft document for spelling and grammar. As well, 2 key reference documents that provided background support in the development of the Lake Plan should be noted, namely; the Lake Stewards Handbook (Haliburton Highlands Stewardship Council); and the Lake Planning Handbook for Community Groups (FOCA, French Planning Services, and Haliburton Highlands Stewardship Council). i Table of Contents Page Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... 1 SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 7 1.1 What is a Lake Plan? ............................................................................................................. 7 1.2 Lake Plan Development Process ......................................................................................... 8 1.2.1 Step One: Planning and Consultation ............................................................................ 9 1.2.2 Step Two: Stakeholder Involvement............................................................................... 9 1.2.3 Survey ................................................................................................................................ 10 1.2.4 Step Three: Research and Confirmation ..................................................................... 12 1.2.5 Step Four: Action Plan .................................................................................................... 12 SECTION 2 VISION .............................................................................................................. 13 2.1 Our Vision for Gull Lake ...................................................................................................... 13 2.2 Principles and Targets ......................................................................................................... 13 SECTION 3 LAKE DESCRIPTION .................................................................................... 15 3.1 Historical Perspective .......................................................................................................... 15 3.2 General Location .................................................................................................................. 18 3.3 Gull Lake Watershed ........................................................................................................... 20 3.4 Gull Lake Characteristics .................................................................................................... 20 3.5 Ownership And Access ....................................................................................................... 21 3.6 Geological Description ......................................................................................................... 23 3.7 Water Levels ......................................................................................................................... 24 3.7.1 History of the Trent Severn Waterway .......................................................................... 24 3.7.2 The Trent Severn Waterway in 2012............................................................................. 24 3.7.3 Broad Water Management .............................................................................................. 25 3.7.4 Historic Gull Lake Water Levels ..................................................................................... 26 3.7.5 Lake Plan Survey and Preferred Gull Lake Water Levels ......................................... 29 SECTION 4 SOCIAL ELEMENTS ...................................................................................... 32 4.1 Landscape And Aesthetics ................................................................................................. 32 4.2 Recreational Boating ........................................................................................................... 32 4.3 Noise ...................................................................................................................................... 33 SECTION 5 NATURAL ELEMENTS .................................................................................. 37 5.1 Water Quality ........................................................................................................................ 37 5.1.1 General .............................................................................................................................. 37 5.1.2 Assessing Water Quality ................................................................................................. 37 5.1.3 Lake Trophic Status and Eutrophication ....................................................................... 37 i 5.1.4 Primary Measures of Ecosystem Health....................................................................... 39 a) Phosphorus ................................................................................................................... 39 b) Secchi Depth ................................................................................................................ 40 c) Benthic Community ...................................................................................................... 41 5.1.5 Other Water Quality Indicators ....................................................................................... 45 a) pH Results .................................................................................................................... 45 b) Temperature ................................................................................................................. 45 c) Dissolved Oxygen ........................................................................................................ 47 d) E Coli ............................................................................................................................. 48 e) Calcium Levels ............................................................................................................. 49 5.1.6 Current State of Water Quality on Gull Lake ................................................................ 49 5.2 Fish Population ..................................................................................................................... 50 5.3 Waterfowl and Wildlife ......................................................................................................... 53 5.3.1 Common Loon .................................................................................................................. 53 5.3.2 Other Waterfowl ................................................................................................................ 54 5.3.3 Wildlife ................................................................................................................................ 55 5.4 Natural Shorelines ................................................................................................................ 55 5.5 Invasive Species and Species at Risk .............................................................................. 56 5.6 Climate Change .................................................................................................................... 59 SECTION 6 LAND USE ....................................................................................................... 60 6.1 Overview of Land Use Planning Systems in Ontario ...................................................... 60 6.2 Municipal Planning Regulations ......................................................................................... 60 6.2.1 Official Plan ....................................................................................................................... 60 6.2.2 Zoning By-Law No. 06-10 (Consolidated March 31, 2008): ...................................... 62 6.2.3 Additional Relevant Municipal By-laws ......................................................................... 63 6.3 Existing And Future Land Use: .........................................................................................