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

The Barrie Creeks, Lovers Creek and Hewitt’s Creek Subwatershed Plan
topographic gradients near Lake Simcoe. Lovers Creek subwatershed has undergone more
urbanization than Hewitt’s Creek with more stream enclosement and channel alteration likely
resulting in the slightly greater drainage density.
Table 2-8: Barrie Creeks, Lovers Creek and Hewitt’s Creek subwatersheds stream length,
watershed area and drainage density.
Creek
Stream Length
(km)
Watershed Area
(km 2 )
Drainage Density
(km/km 2 )
Bunkers Creek 8.210 3.856 2.129
Whiskey Creek 12.139 6.151 1.973
Kidd’s Creek 4.916 5.791 0.849
Dyments Creek 11.296 6.242 1.810
Hotchkiss Creek 11.004 4.502 2.444
Sophia Creek 4.929 3.840 1.284
**Barrie Creeks
(at subwatershed level)
52.494 30.381 1.728
Lovers Creek 93.112 58.595 1.589
Hewitt’s Creek 23.559 17.515 1.345
***Simcoe Watershed
Avg
**Excludes small unnamed creeks.
3672.254 2515.891 1.460
***The Lake Simcoe watershed average includes the subwatersheds of: Beaver River, Black River, East
Holland River, Georgina Creeks, Georgina Island, Hawkestone Creek, Hewitt’s Creek, Innisfil Creeks,
Lovers Creek, Maskinonge River, Oro Creeks North, Oro Creek South, Pefferlaw/Uxbridge Brook,
Ramara Creeks, West Holland River, and Whites Creek.
2.5.3.3. Elevation along watercourse
When there is a change in elevation, such as when water flows down from headwaters to
receiving waters, energy is produced. Where there is greater fall (steeper slope) energy is
gained and waters flow faster, picking up more sediment and having more force to erode banks.
These can also be areas of unique fishery habitats where water is flowing quickly over shallow
bedrock (riffles and rapids) that are used by some fish species such as Brook Trout (Salvelinus
fontinalis), Walleye (Sander vitreus) and Longnose Dace (Rhinichthys cataractae), as spawning
grounds. Depending on the fall, it can also create a barrier to some aquatic species that are
unable to swim against the force of the flow. Where the elevation levels out, the energy
dissipates, releasing sediment and creating a slower flowing stream. These different processes
help to alter the stream system over time. Stream profiles are shown in Figure 2-27 in relation to
underlying surficial geology and features (discussed in Section 2.4.2) and only represent the
main branch.
Chapter 2: Study Area: The Barrie Creeks, Lovers Creek and Hewitt’s Creek Subwatersheds 61