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 Legislation and policy restrictions are the primary source of protection for water quality in the Lake Simcoe watershed, guided by the fundamental provincial planning policies as articulated in the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) and Lake Simcoe Protection Plan (LSPP). However, some stressors are better suited to policy and regulation than others. For example, a water quality stressor such as climate change is hard to regulate; however, stressors associated with site alterations and stormwater are much easier to control and regulate. Policy tools to deal with these stressors can be found in Provincial Policy (such as PPS or LSPP), municipal official plans and zoning bylaws, and Conservation Authority Regulations. Together these documents are intended to provide protection to features that are significant both locally and provincially, while providing clarity to private landowners, and accountability to the electorate. Further to the guidelines provided by the PPS, the LSPP identifies additional targets to improve existing water quality in the Lake Simcoe watershed. These targets call for the reduction of phosphorus, pathogens (such as E. coli), and contaminants (i.e. heavy metals, organic chemicals, sediments, and chlorides). To assist in achieving these targets, policies established under the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan place firmer controls on sewage treatment plants (Policies 4.1-4.4), stormwater management (Policies 4.-5-4.12), septic systems (Policies 4.13- 4.15), and construction activities (Policies 4.16-4.21), as well as promoting better management practices throughout the various communities in the watershed (LSPP, 2009). Within the Lake Simcoe watershed and its tributaries, excessive phosphorus is considered the most significant cause of water quality impairment. Because of this, Policy 4.24-SA of the LSPP committed the Province, LSRCA, local stakeholders, municipalities, and other partners to develop a comprehensive Phosphorus Reduction Strategy within the first year of the Plan. In June 2010, the Lake Simcoe Phosphorus Reduction Strategy (PRS) was completed. The PRS is an adaptive management tool that takes a watershed based approach to manage the phosphorus levels in Lake Simcoe. By looking at the problems and researching solutions for the lake and its tributaries, the PRS provides direction to achieve proportional reductions from each major contributing source of phosphorus to reduce the current total load of 72 T/yr down to 44 T/yr in the future. The goal of 44 T/yr is the annual phosphorus load required to achieve the LSPP deep water dissolved oxygen target of 7 mg/L that research proposes is needed to support a naturally reproducing and self-sustaining cold water fishery in Lake Simcoe. The PRS is broken down into six key concepts, derived from the LSPP, to address the major sources or sectors contributing phosphorus to the Lake Simcoe watershed. These include: • Adaptive Management; • Watershed Approach; • Stewardship and Community Action; • Source-specific Actions; • Monitoring and Compliance; and • Research, Modelling, and Innovation. Each of these sections includes the ways in which that concept can address the stressors and how they contribute the overall function of the PRS tool. Additionally, “strategic directions” have been incorporated into the PRS to set out actions to be taken to reach the goal of 44 T/yr. Many of the gaps, related mostly to insufficient information available, are addressed in the “strategic directions” to continue research efforts and link to the appropriate actions (such as stewardship efforts, working with aggregate and development industries, etc). Related policies from the Chapter 3: Water Quality – Surface and Groundwater 127
The Barrie Creeks, Lovers Creek and Hewitt’s Creek Subwatershed Plan LSPP have also been included in the source-specific actions to further the connection between the PRS and LSPP documents. The watershed based approach for protecting drinking water was first adopted in Ontario in 2006, with the Clean Water Act to protect drinking water at its source, as part of the Province’s overall commitment to safeguard human health and the environment by using a multi-barrier approach. The protection of sources of drinking water in the lakes, rivers, and underground aquifers of Ontario comprises the first barrier. Source Protection complements the other components, which include effective water treatment, secure distribution systems, monitoring programs, and responses to adverse test results, by reducing the risk that water is contaminated in the first place. Participants in the Source Protection program include the Ministry of the Environment, Source Protection Authorities, Source Protection committees, municipalities, First Nations, consultants, and the public. The Proposed Source Protection Plan was submitted to the Ministry October 22, 2012 and is currently (2012) waiting for approval. The Source Protection Plan is a document that focuses on preventing the overuse and contamination of drinking water supplies across the SGBLS SPR. The plan includes policies and strategies to protect drinking water by allowing municipalities to take a proactive approach in preventing, reducing, or eliminating significant threats to water resources (for example: chloride from road salt). In addition to the PPS, the LSPP, the Clean Water Act, and the other acts and policies in Table 3-13, the municipalities, in this case the City of Barrie and Town of Innisfil, municipal Official Plans are key to preserving and improving water quality within the subwatersheds. The City of Barrie Official Plan has both goals and policies set around the preservation and improvement of water quality for Kempenfelt Bay and the watercourses within the city. It touches on most of the stressors listed in Table 3-13, with the exception of application of salt, agricultural runoff, and climate change. Management of water resources, with respect to natural heritage and resources (under General Policies), is to be looked at with an integrated watershed approach when reviewing development proposals. The City is responsible for promoting water conservation and maintaining the quality and sustainability of surface and groundwater resources, protecting, improving and restoring them where possible (Policy 3.5.2.3). In terms of water and wastewater, there are policies to ensure the City make an effort “to use modern and cost effective water pollution abatement measures in order to provide safe, sanitary and efficient methods of water treatment and waste water disposal” (Policy 5.2.2.1). Under the Barrie OP Policy 5.3.2.2 (policies for stormwater management) all major developments are required to prepare stormwater management studies and plans; channelization is restricted (unless necessary for flood relief, erosion control, fisheries protection, or to environmentally enhance the site); development proposals are restricted from locating stormwater management facilities on lands designated as Environmental Protection or Open Space (unless in accordance with provincial policy); and where necessary existing stormwater ponds should be retrofitted to the standards of the City and senior government legislation. Policy 5.3.2.3 looks at the design criteria for development, directing new development away from flood prone areas; encouraging the creation of green roofs and ponding on flat roofs in areas of high density; and promoting best management practices for development occurring on aquifers or areas that may have groundwater recharge. There is also reference to policies set out for water quality in the LSPP. Similarly, the Town of Innisfil Official Plan also addresses almost all the stressors listed in Table 3-10, again with the exception of application of salt and climate change, with goals, objectives and policies focused on protecting, improving and restoring water quality of the watercourses and the groundwater found within the municipality. Natural heritage policies (2.4.1-2.4.7) focus Chapter 3: Water Quality – Surface and Groundwater 128
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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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Creek ANNE ST N BAYFIELD ST N LINE
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FERNDALE DR N ANNE ST N BAYFIELD ST
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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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