What Are We Doing?
Moving Forward
The Crowe Valley Conservation Authority (CVCA) covers an area of approximately 2,006 km2, and includes the
Crowe River, North River and Beaver Creek sub watersheds. The watershed contains many wetlands, small
lakes, a high percentage of forest cover and retains much of its natural landscape.
The Crowe Valley Conservation Authority (CVCA) continues to monitor water quality within the Crowe Watershed and
report on the information collected. In moving forward we are paving a path for future generations as well as future
development in the Crowe Valley watershed. The data collected has been vital for the Source Water Protection Program
and will be valuable for future planning, climate change and environmental challenges that lie ahead.
Crowe Valley
At five sampling sites surface water is collected for seven months of the year in the CVCA watershed. Ground water
samples are collected annually from seven monitoring wells and ground water levels are continuously monitored.
Benthic invertebrates are collected annually from an average of twelve sites spread throughout the watershed. With
funding assistance from the MNR Experience Program, the CVCA is able to hire students to collect Benthic samples
starting in May. In addition to the Benthic samples there are also water quality samples taken at the Benthic sites for
the province wide Biocriteria Project with the Ministry of Environment.
Report Card 2013
For over 50 years, the CVCA has worked in partnerships with its 10 member municipalities, the Ministry
of Natural Resources, Ministry of Environment and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. With its early
beginnings in dam management dating back to the 1950s, the Authority has been evolving in response to
increasing environmental demands regarding the responsible management of watershed resources.
This Watershed Report Card is the first of its kind released in CVCA history. The need for continued
monitoring and reporting on all resources - water, forests and the management of these resources - is
necessary in order to obtain critical data on the health of the watershed. With local support for sustained
monitoring and reporting programs the CVCA can continue to deliver programs to protect and manage the
natural resources for local watershed residents.
There are some gaps that have prevented the CVCA from generating grades for all the indicators in this
reporting format. The CVCA has been consistently working on closing these gaps through monitoring ground
and surface water since 2006. With established monitoring programs and local support in place, CVCA will
be able to improve its capacity to report on additional watershed indicators within the next reporting cycle.
Where Are We?
We are one of
36 Conservation
Authorities across
Ontario under
the umbrella
organization of
Conservation
Ontario.
Watershed
What Does This Report Card Measure?
What You Can Do!
In urban areas we can protect water by working with our Municipalities and Conservation Authorities through the
Source Water Protection Program to help eliminate potential spills and leaks that could affect our drinking water
sources.
Surface Water Quality
Forest Conditions
Groundwater Quality
Why Measure?
Although most of the Crowe Valley Watershed is rural, we can still help to protect our water resources in other ways.
By properly maintaining septic systems and preventing spills and leaks near water features or wells we can play a
important role in protecting these valuable water resources.
Measuring helps us better understand our watershed. It helps us to focus our efforts where they are needed
most and track progress. It also helps us to identify healthy and ecologically important areas that requir
protection or enhancement.
By ensuring we think about the impact our actions could make on the environment we can also help with such things
like following best boating practises, not releasing live bait, maintain buffers around water bodies, using phosphorus
free products and in general incorporate responsible actions to take care of our environment.
What is a Watershed?
A watershed is an area of land drained by a river or stream.
Similar to the branch of a tree, creeks empty into streams, which then
empty into larger streams, eventually forming one main trunk.
Within this system, everything is connected to everything else. In
other words, actions which take place at the top of the system can
and do affect those downstream.
Crowe Valley Conservation Authority
70 Hughes Lane, P.O. Box 416
Marmora, Ontario
P. (613) 472-3137 F. (613) 472-5516
www.crowevalley.ca
Crowe Valley Conservation Authority has prepared this
report card as a summary on the state of our forests,
wetlands, surface water, and ground water resources.
Grading
A Excellent
B Good
C Fair
D Poor
F Very Poor
The standards used in this report card were developed by Conservation
Authorities to ensure consistent reportings across the Province of Ontario
and are intended to provide watershed residents with information to
protect, enhance and improve the precious resources that surround us.
Surface Water Quality
Forest Conditions
Groundwater Quality
Indicators
Phosphorous
E.coli Bacteria
Benthic Macro-Invertebrates
Indicators
% Forest Cover
% Forest Interior
% Riparian Zone Forested
Indicators
Nitrate and Nitrite Levels
Chloride Levels
Groundwater quality not reported on due to insufficient data.
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Bancroft
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Coe Hill
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The Crowe Valley Conservation Authority
(CVCA) was able to report on phosphorus
from water samples collected over a five year
period. The score achieved was excellent for
the samples taken, and the watershed was
graded an A for surface water. Phosphorous
is crucial to many aquatic life cycles however
in excess it can cause abundant aquatic
vegetative growth, resulting in anoxic
conditions when the vegetation decomposes.
Coe Hill
Madoc
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Havelock
PWQMN Surface Water Sampling Sites
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Benthic Macroinvertebrate Sampling Sites
Surface Water Quality
Marmora
!
Although CVCA does not measure E-Coli,
there are other indicators of surface water
health that the CVCA does measure under
the Provincial Water Quality Monitoring Network. Chlorine, nitrates and lead are regularly
measured. While these three parameters are not considered in the grading of this
watershed report card, the water quality data on these parameters confirms there have
been no exceedances of the Ontario Drinking Water Quality Standards or upward trends
that might result in an exceedance.
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Norwood
Excellent (scoring is based on phosphorus data only)
Benthic Macroinvertebrates are also being collected in the Crowe Valley Watershed but are
not included in this grading for Surface Water as they are not identified to family level. The
CVCA is currently working to identify all samples to family level as well as have accurate
reference sites for comparison established by the next watershed report card.
In summary phosphorus levels scored an A, but we hope to add more data to this section
in the future which will increase the accuracy of the phosphorus score.
The majority of the Crowe Valley Conservation
Authority (CVCA) watershed encompasses the
rugged terrain of the Canadian Shield with
a number of wetlands, riparian areas and
forests intertwined within the watershed.
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Forest Conditions
CVCA scores a Grade A in forest cover
because of the significantly high percentage
of forested or wooded areas within the
watershed. This map is shaded entirely in blue
to represent the ‘excellent’ forest coverage
throughout the watershed.
Norwood
Excellent
While much of the forest was at one time
harvested, the majority is now undisturbed forest cover. Within this highly forested
terrain CVCA maintains four Conservation Areas and an Agreement Forest totalling
over 1235 Acres. The high quality forest cover can also be contributed to a lack of
major transportation corridors throughout most of the CVCA watershed. This results in
development being concentrated around the few transportation corridors or localized
around the water bodies in the watershed.
Having such high quality forest cover is a wonderful natural feature in the CVCA watershed
which requires protection to ensure it is not degraded. Under Ontario Regulation 159/06
the CVCA can ensure that this stewardship responsibility is fulfilled by protecting sensitive
areas around watercourses and wetlands (including forests). The regulation also ensures
that development in these areas is done in a safe and conscientious way.
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Regardless of low urban densities in the
Crowe Valley Conservation Authority
(CVCA) watershed, groundwater still has
the potential to be impacted by human
actions. Nutrients, road salts, septic systems,
aggregate operations and closed landfills or
brownfields all could possibly contribute to
potential degradation in future water quality
resources.
Watershed Management
Services
15 Water Control Structures to regulate water levels
and flows.
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Water level data collection can also help
us with climate change challenges. As
everything is connected the aquifers
underground can reflect the water that flows
across our landscape. The groundwater flows through the Crowe system in a general
southerly direction and contains mainly bedrock aquifers and overburden aquifers.
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The Crowe Valley Conservation Authority (CVCA)
is unique in the way that the water levels and
flows are carefully managed with a series of
fifteen water control structures. By managing
and operating dams throughout the watershed
365 days a year, CVCA water management
includes minimizing the effects of flooding,
maintaining summer recreational lake levels
and monitoring periods of low flows. Some of
the structures are owned by CVCA where others
are owned by the Ministry of Natural Resources.
The CVCA operates the majority of the water
control structures while some are operated in
partnership by the Ministry of Natural Resources.
In partnership with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, the CVCA participates in the
Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network and collects groundwater samples in our
watershed. Throughout the watershed we have eight groundwater wells where we collect
water level data and ground water samples. Currently there is insufficient data available to
report on ground water quality grading.
Water levels are also managed through each sub watershed considering the impact of
upstream and downstream conditions. Having many lakes and rivers in the watershed being
used for recreational purposes poses many challenges for the CVCA staff as the Authority
must consider reaching its summer and winter level targets when managing the water
system. This is particularly evident as people are vacationing longer or more often at their
summer residences. The issue’s complexity is raised even further with the conversion of
cottages to homes or the addition of homes in the watershed.
As additional data is needed to fully characterize the quality of the ground water flowing
through the watershed, the CVCA will continue monitoring through the Provincial
Groundwater Monitoring Network and be able to analyse results for the next reporting
cycle.
There are also two Hydroelectric-Generating Stations located in Marmora on Crowe River
and further upstream on Cordova Lake. The Marmora Power Generation station is managed
primarily by the CVCA, however the Cordova Power Generation station is operated by
Algonquin Power.