Barrie Creeks, Lovers Creek, and Hewitt's Creek Subwatershed Plan

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The Barrie Creeks, Lovers Creek and Hewitt’s Creek Subwatershed Plan In the Innisfil Heights and Stroud Well Supplies, no contaminants were identified as Drinking Water Issues or Conditions, however possible Significant Threats were identified related to a variety of land uses (Innisfil Heights) and individual septic systems (Stroud). 3.3.2 Surface Water 3.3.2.1. Phosphorus One of the most significant causes of water quality degradation in Lake Simcoe and its tributaries is an excess of phosphorus. Phosphorus promotes the eutrophication of surface waters by stimulating excessive growth of plants and algae. This impairs both the aquatic communities (the decomposition of this extra plant material depletes dissolved oxygen levels, particularly in the deeper parts of the lake where there is critical coldwater species habitat) and recreational opportunities (restricts recreational use of waterways, washes up on beaches, creates a negative aesthetic view along the shoreline, etc.). Phosphorus occurs naturally in the environment and is a vital nutrient needed by both plants and animals. However, current land uses have increased the phosphorus loading to Lake Simcoe from an estimated 32 T/yr (prior to settlement and land clearing in the 1800s) to a current estimated 72 T/yr (MOE, 2010). Rural and agricultural land uses make up 5%, 36%, and 54% of the Barrie Creeks, Lovers Creek, and Hewitt’s Creek subwatersheds, respectively. Runoff from pastures and crop land, as well as wind, which erodes topsoil, contributes to the phosphorus loading in mostly the Lovers Creek and Hewitt’s Creek subwatersheds. Urban land use on the other hand use makes up 63%, 21%, and 18% of the Barrie Creeks, Lovers Creek, and Hewitt’s Creek subwatersheds, and a considerable contribution to the phosphorus loading (particularly in Barrie Creeks) through stormwater runoff (discussed further in Section 3.3.2.9). Phosphorus load estimates were originally calculated in the Assimilative Capacity Studies (ACS), 2006, but have since been updated by the original authors, the Louis Berger Group, in a report completed in September, 2010, entitled ‘Estimation of the Phosphorus Loadings to Lake Simcoe’. A watershed model (CANWET) that estimates nutrient loads based on inputs such as land use, precipitation, and soil type was used for both the ACS and the updated study. The following tables (Table 3-7 to Table 3-9) present the average yearly phosphorus loads derived from each source in the subwatersheds under current conditions, the approved growth scenario, and the approved growth scenario with implementation of agricultural BMPs. Urban BMPs are not considered in this particular study as the model used did not consider them, but the model is currently being updated and future versions of this Plan will include the amount of phosphorus that can be reduced through urban BMPs, which are particularly important in the highly urbanized subwatersheds, such as Barrie Creeks. However, in Section 3.3.2.9 (Uncontrolled stormwater and impervious surfaces), BMPs related to retrofit opportunities for stormwater ponds and the resulting phosphorus reduction is presented for each subwatershed. The primary source of phosphorus in the Barrie Creeks subwatershed under existing conditions is derived from high intensity development land uses (58%) and point sources (38%). Under the approved growth scenario, there is a projected increase in total phosphorus loads of 6.5% without the implementation of agricultural BMPs (does not consider urban BMPs). The projected phosphorus load under the approved growth scenario can be reduced by 0% through the implementation of agricultural BMPs (Table 3-7). Under existing conditions, the Barrie Creeks subwatershed is the highest contributor of total phosphorus to Lake Simcoe (Figure 3-9). Under the committed growth scenario it is expected to be third highest contributor of total phosphorus, as the growth and development expected in both the East and West Holland subwatersheds puts them as the top two contributors to the lake (Figure 3-10) (Berger, 2010a). Chapter 3: Water Quality – Surface and Groundwater 95
The Barrie Creeks, Lovers Creek and Hewitt’s Creek Subwatershed Plan Table 3-7: Phosphorus loads by source for the Barrie Creeks subwatershed associated with agriculture BMP scenarios (Berger, 2010a). Source Existing (kg/year) Committed Growth Scenario (kg/year) Change (Existing Condition to Committed Growth) Committed Growth (with BMPs) (kg/year) Change (Committed Growth scenario with BMP implementation) % Change (with BMP implementation) Hay/Pasture 17 17 0 17 0 0 Crop Land 36 32 -4 32 0 0 Turf-Sod 0 0 0 - 0 0 Tile Drainage 0 0 0 0 0 0 Low intensity development 12 10 -2 10 0 0 High intensity development 4,810 5,704 894 5,704 0 0 Septics 84 84 0 84 0 0 Polder 0 0 0 0 0 0 Quarry 1 1 0 1 0 0 Unpaved road 0 0 0 0 0 0 Transition 5 2 -3 2 0 0 Forest 1 0 -1 0 0 0 Wetland 0 0 0 0 0 0 Stream bank 81 77 -4 77 0 0 Groundwater (shallow subsurface 53 65 12 65 0 0 flow) Point sources 3,131 2,774 -357 2,774 0 0 TOTAL 8,231 8,766 535 8,766 0 0% - Based on Strategic Direction #3 in the Phosphorus Reduction Strategy, future development should be moving to no net increase in phosphorus. Currently our understanding is that the province is working on a phosphorus reduction tool to ensure this. Chapter 3: Water Quality – Surface and Groundwater 96
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Barrie Creeks, Lovers Creek, and He
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Acknowledgements The Barrie Creeks,
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• East of the Barrie Creeks subwa
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Fish Habitat -Fish communities in t
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Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS
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3.5.4 Water Temperature - thermal d
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5.3.11 Climate Change 237 5.4 ASSES
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6.5.10 Improving data management 31
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LIST OF FIGURES CHAPTER 1 Figure 1-
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Figure 2-34: Annual precipitation (
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CHAPTER 4 Figure 4-1: Hydrologic cy
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Figure 5-11: Pathways by which impe
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Figure 7-11: Riparian area with app
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Table 3-4: Surface water quality co
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CHAPTER 5 Table 5-1: Fish species c
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The Barrie Creeks, Lovers Creek and
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7.4 Urban interactions - land use,
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Barrie Creeks, Lovers Creek, and Hewitt's Creek Subwatershed Plan

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