Fort Erie Creeks Watershed Plan - Niagara Peninsula Conservation ...

fields. Due to the scale and quality of the 1978 aerial photograph, detailed accounts of channel
planform changes could not be described for these reaches.
Millers Creek
This watercourse is surrounded by a mixture of agricultural fields, scrubland, and forest land
uses with a small number of residential parcels intermixed within the vegetated areas. These
land uses did not appear to have changed much from 1955 to 2005. Some agricultural fields in
1955 have become vegetated scrubland while other regions have become dense forested areas.
Additional residential buildings were constructed prior to 1978 along both Cairns Crescent and
Sutherland Drive that were not observed in 1955. A detailed review of aerial photographs of
Reach MLC-1 and MLC-2 confirm significant changes in channel planform through the
straightening of Millers Creek for road construction and residential development. As one travels
upstream, the creek’s natural meander-riffle cycle resumes and no further changes in land use or
channel planform are observed.
Beaver Creek
This watercourse flows as a tributary to Black Creek that confluence immediately south of the
Q.E.W. and Townline Road intersection. There is no aerial photographic coverage for Reaches
BVC-12 to BVC-16, and BVC-20 to BVC-25 for either 1955 or 1978. Therefore, only the
remaining reaches could be characterized and their historical information described.
There does not appear to be any significant changes in surrounding land uses that would account
for any changes in channel planform observed for Beaver Creek. Scrubland and scrub forest
remain the dominant surrounding land uses, with a few agricultural fields and residential parcels
intermixed throughout the extent of the watercourse. Of the 26 reaches delineated for Beaver
Creek, there only appeared to be three that actually had significant land use changes prior to
1978 that were observable in the aerial photographs. Reaches BVC-3 and BVC-4 were
originally surrounded by agricultural fields and small parcels of scrubland in 1955. By 1978, the
fields along the western bank were taken over by fairways and greens for the International Golf
and Country Club. Only Reach BVC-17 of the remaining Beaver Creek Reaches shows any sign
of change in surrounding land use. In 1955 and 1978, this reach was immediately surrounded by
a thin strip of scrub forest and a large agricultural field along its eastern bank. Prior to the taking
of the 2005 aerial photograph, a horse racing track was constructed within the agricultural fields
of the eastern bank.
According to the detailed assessment of the reaches for all three years studied, there did not
appear to be any significant change in the channel planform observed. That being said, the scale
and thick vegetative cover present in the upstream reaches makes it difficult to determine the
accurate location of the channel. Therefore, definitive changes in channel planform could not be
assessed for those areas where scrublands and forest rendered channel banks challenging to see.
In cases such as this, we can only rely on those areas that can be seen in the aerial photographs,
as well as the areas where the watercourse is crossed by a bridge or road. There did not appear
to any changes in the location of these road and bridge crossings either. Therefore, it can be
stated that observable changes in the planform of the channel is unlikely for Beaver Creek.
March 2008 34 Fort Erie Creeks Watershed Plan
General Report (105116)