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The effort to improve water quality and environmental awareness in the Bonnechere River watershed has moved into a major new phase with the launching of a Riverwatch program.
The Bonnechere River Watershed Project (BRWP) is using a two-year $135,800 Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) grant to increase monitoring of the river and its tributaries and hold workshops to involve residents in the process.
The grant builds on the $21,000 OTF grant the BRWP received in late 2007 to develop a website to engage citizens in watershed issues and expand the publicizing of information about the health of the river.
The BRWP unveiled a new-look website July 30 that provides a wealth of frequently updated information about the watershed. It has also used grant money to buy more sophisticated water monitoring equipment.
“It’s a great help,” said BRWP chair Kathryn Lindsay of Renfrew. “It’s given us stability in funding that allows us to do a variety of things with the Riverwatch program.”
The Human Resources Development Canada’s Science Horizons program has also subsidized the effort, she added.
“It’s really important we know how the river system works,” said Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MPP John Yakabuski. “We should never take for granted the water that supports us.”
He noted the river system “is a very busy one” that supports tourism, power generation, farming and many other pursuits.
“I’m very pleased the BRWP was successful again in obtaining funding for phase two of this campaign,” said Yakabuski. “Obviously the OTF saw the value of phase one last year and has seen fit to extend the funding … so the study and monitoring of the system will continue to ensure what we’re doing is for the community good and based on proper ecological practices.”
To implement its Riverwatch program, the BRWP has gathered a diverse team. Jessica Danard, an ecosystem management technologist graduate of Sir Sandford Fleming, has stepped into the role of Riverwatch program co-ordinator. She will focus on stream assessment and volunteer training and support.
Summer student Virginia Robinson of Beachburg will assist Danard throughout the summer. Robinson, who was a Renfrew County Stewardship Ranger last year, will return for her second year of engineering at the University of Ottawa in the fall.
BRWP co-ordinator Amanda Brown will help develop the stream assessment strategy and train the team and volunteers. Greg Almond, the web developer for phase one, will continue in that role and has also agreed to act as project manager.
Supporting the Riverwatch team is a group of volunteers who will provide expertise, contacts and support.
Lindsay will act as the Riverwatch program lead. Mark Jones of Eganville and Jim Slavin of Admaston will focus on public engagement workshops and John Almstedt of Lake Clear on links with other watershed organizations such as the Lake Clear Cottagers Association and the Ottawa Riverkeeper.
The aim of the Riverwatch project is to keep an ongoing database of information on the health of the Bonnechere River watershed and to share the information with the public.
To do this, a combination of biomonitoring (the science of determining the overall health of an ecosystem by examining its living components) and chemical analysis is being used.
On the biomonitoring front, Benthic macro invertebrates (creek bottom dwellers) are used to indicate the quality of water bodies that feed into the Bonnechere River. Since June, undeterred by high runoff levels, Danard and Robinson have been splashing about various tributaries and lakes feeding into the river, checking water quality and collecting invertebrate samples.
The data provides a well-rounded view of the overall health of each tributary. After analyses, each tributary is labeled as unimpaired, possibly impaired or impaired. Danard says so far the results have been a mixed (their findings are available on the BRWP website).
The pair has checked such tributaries as Smith’s Creek in Renfrew, Deil’s and Little Halliday creeks in Horton, and Crozier’s, Pettigrew’s and Harris creeks in Admaston-Bromley.
They are taking samples on Brennan’s Creek in the Killaloe area this week and will be checking Kasaboski’s Creek in Horton and McGee’s and Cherry’s creeks in Admaston-Bromley in mid-August.
Because the Riverwatch program is in its first year of operation, the main goal this season is to define sampling sites that will be monitored annually and to gather as much information as possible to form a baseline of data, said Lindsay.
She noted another goal is to establish a line of communication with landowners, stakeholders, and other interested parties throughout the watershed.
The Riverwatch program is looking for volunteers who are interested in taking part in sampling efforts. People who wish to ‘adopt-a-creek’ are welcome.
The Riverwatch team held a volunteer training workshop in Eganville in May outlining the program, protocol, and some BMI identification. More workshops will be held in the future.
The BRWP also welcomes community partners. Past chairman Jim Slavin notes that the organization appreciates the interest and support shown by ProTyre, Bonnechere Valley Windows, Money Concepts, Renfrew Power Generation, Town of Renfrew, Renfrew County Agricultural Advisory Committee and the Renfrew County Stewardship Council.
To express interest, inquire about volunteer opportunities or to ask any questions about the Riverwatch program, contact Danard via e-mail at Riverwatch@bonnechereriver.ca.
For more information and program updates, visit the new-look BRWP website at www.bonnechereriver.ca.
WORKSHOPS
The Bonnechere River Watershed Project (BRWP) will host a series of public engagement workshops starting with one for cottagers Aug. 15.
The workshops will focus on helping to prepare a vision of the future for the watershed and its inhabitants.
The results of the workshops will determine how steps can be taken to ensure the future and the health of the watershed.
BRWP chair Kathryn Lindsay says the first workshop, to be held at the Golden Sands in Golden Lake, will bring together cottagers and shoreline residents to share concerns and issues about the watershed.
“We want to see if they feel we should be continuing things as they are or developing some strategies for change,” she said.
The second workshop, to be held in late fall or early winter, is aimed at finding the views of farmers, foresters and tourism operators.
A third workshop will focus on youth, while the final one will provide the findings to municipal and county planners. “We want to give them the results to give them an idea of people’s ideas and aspirations,” said Lindsay.