8132 - NPCA SNF Watershed Report.indd - Niagara Peninsula ...

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Forest Habitat and MeadowsThe amount of forest cover in a watershed determines its abilityto support species diversity. The South Niagara Falls watershedis within adequate levels to protect water quality and providehabitat (Regional Municipality of Niagara 2006). However, someof the forest stands may be immature and may be functioningbelow optimum for habitat diversity (Regional Municipality ofNiagara 2006) Forest cover is beneficial because it:provide many ecological functions in the South Niagara Fallswatershed in terms of protecting water quality, moderatingwater quantity and providing habitat. In natural areasstormwater is more or less infiltrated where it falls, allowingmost of the pollutants to be filtered through soils. When theseareas are lost, and their functions not replaced with infiltration,detention or restoration measures, receiving watercourses arenegatively affected with increased flows and pollutant loads.The challenge for the South Niagara Falls watershed is theexpansion of riparian buffers to help protect and enhance waterquality in the watershed.Wetland HabitatWetlands provide very important water quality and ecologicalfunctions in a watershed. Currently, the percent of wetlandcover in the South Niagara Falls watershed is high (RegionalMunicipality of Niagara 2006). Means to maintain the numbersand/or size of wetlands in the watershed are included in thewatershed strategy because wetlands:• naturally filter water resources thereby improving waterquality,• act like sponges, slowing the flow of water which reduces theimpact of flooding and allows for groundwater recharge,• help to prevent soil erosion, and• augments low-flows by raising local water tables, which helpsto maintain base flows.Riparian CoverRiparian cover in the watershed is moderate. Like wetlands,riparian buffers also improve water quality. For example,riparian buffers:• remove sediment and pollution such as fertilizers, pesticides,bacteria and road salt before they reach surface water,• reduce the impacts of flooding,• prevent erosion,• improve water clarity, and• provide shade and cooler water temperatures for fish andother aquatic organisms (NPCA 2003).• reduces flooding and low flow events by intercepting runoffthereby encouraging infiltration,• improves water quality by slowing the rate of runoff towatercourses, and trapping, using or breaking down some ofthe pollutants and nutrients found in runoff water,• improves water quality by lowering water temperatures andshading water courses,• improves groundwater quality by increasing the amount ofrainfall that percolates to the groundwater table,• reduces soil erosion, and• preserves and increases flora and fauna diversity.In addition, meadows also play an important role in creatinghabitat diversity and foraging areas for wildlife. Therefore,they should be given consideration in habitat creation andrestoration actions in the South Niagara Falls watershed.Fish and Aquatic HabitatThe fish community in the South Niagara Falls watershed isrepresentative of a tolerant warm water fishery, which includesdifferent species of fish that have varying tolerances toenvironmental change. Therefore, they are considered valuableindicators of environmental and ecosystem health (NottawasagaValley Conservation Authority 1995). The protection andimprovement of critical and important fish habitat has beenidentified as an issue in this watershed (Regional Municipalityof Niagara 2006)Fish habitat consists of areas that fish need, whether directlyor indirectly in order to carry out their life processes includingspawning grounds, nursery, rearing, food supply,and migration areas. Broadly defined, wetlands, groundwaterrecharge areas, aquifers, and the quantity and quality ofgroundwater and surface water are all important factorsfor maintaining the quality and quantity of fish habitat.Development activities, structures, changes in land use, andalteration to hydrology can all impact fish and fish habitat. Fishhabitat can be damaged in numerous ways including:• dredging and filling near spawning and nursery habitat,• loss of riparian vegetation,• stream alterations including fish barriers,• poorly managed stormwater runoff,• impaired water quality (e.g., sediment and nutrient loadings,increased temperature), and• loss of groundwater recharge capability (Fisheries andOceans, Fisheries Act, Section 34).The watershed strategy will focus on preserving Type 1fish habitat in the watershed, and it will suggest restorationalternatives to maintain and improve Type 2 fish habitat.32
Municipal Drain MaintenanceSeveral municipal drains are located in the South NiagaraFalls watershed including Union Marsh Drain, Bayers CreekDrain, Tee Creek Drain, Young Drain, as well as Howie Drainand Hopf-Wagner Drain both of which are segments of YoungDrain. Drain maintenance was raised as an issue by arealandowners at the first public meeting held in December 2006.Drain maintenance has been scheduled in the near future forYoung Drain (Tee Creek), Boyers Creek Drain (Bayers Creek)and Union Marsh Drain (Ussher’s Creek) (Barrett PersonalCommunication NPCA 2007).Lyons Creek Contaminated Sediment StudyThe Lyons Creek West and Lyons Creek East subwatersheds werecreated as a result of the Welland Canal By-Pass completed in1971. The construction resulted in the western portion of LyonsCreek draining to the Welland Canal By-Pass from the originalheadwaters in the City of Welland. The headwaters for LyonsCreek East subsequently originate in the Welland Canal and apumping station, installed at the upstream end of the creek,maintains flow in Lyons Creek East through the addition ofwater from the canal.In both Lyons Creek East and West, elevated levels of PCBs werefound in surface and subsurface soils and/or sediments. Studiesshow that PCBs in Lyons Creek East could present potentialrisks to some ecological receptors. Assessments of remedialoptions are currently underway for both subwatersheds.In June 2007, public information sessions were held at eachsite so the public’s input on sediment management optionsfor consideration could be obtained by the RAP’s TechnicalAdvisory Committee. Four options were brought forward to thepublic with an explanation of the social and technical aspectsof each alternative. The options presented by the RAP TechnicalAdvisory Committee are as follows:1) Monitored Natural Recovery: The sediment would be leftuntouched and the area eventually covered by naturalgeneration of new sediment or soil cover.2) In-filling Without Sediment Removal: A clay cap would beplaced over the area to isolate the contamination from thesurface.3) In-filling With Sediment Removal: A clay cap would be placedover less-impacted areas and ‘hot spots’ would be removed.4) Removal and Restoration of Wetland: Complete removal ofcontaminated soil/sediment and restoration of the site into asculpted wetland.Since the public information session was held at Lyon’s CreekEast, a Public Advisory Committee, comprised of a few localvolunteers, has been organized to meet over the duration of theremediation planning process for the site. Issues pertaining tothe selection of the sediment management option for the siteand related concerns raised at the open house are discussed.The Technical Steering Committee will review a synthesis of thepublic comments received on the sediment management optionsand discuss these in context with the selection evaluationcriteria. The next phase of the project will involve design andimplementation of the preferred sediment management optionfor each site (Cromie 2007).Climate ChangeMost climatologists agree that climate change and the warmingof the Earth’s atmosphere is occurring. In addition, there isalso broad agreement that human activities are primarilyresponsible for the changes to global climate that have beenobserved during the last half of the twentieth century (de Loëand Berg 2006). As reported by de Loë and Berg (2006) someof the predicted impacts to water resources in the Great LakesBasin include, for example:• Winter runoff is expected to increase, but total runoff isexpected to decrease, thus summer and fall low flows areexpected to be lower and longer lasting;• Groundwater recharge is expected to decrease due to agreater frequency of droughts and extreme precipitationevents. As a result, shallow aquifers will be more sensitive tothese changes than deeper wells; and• Water temperature in rivers and streams is expected to rise asair temperatures rise, and as summer baseflow is reduced.These modeled or predicted impacts to water resources willaffect society as well as ecosystems. Societal water use issuesmay arise because decreased runoff may lead to reduced waterquality, resulting in increased water treatment costs and greatercompetition and conflict for water resources during low wateror drought conditions. Ecologically, changes to wetland formand function may also experience change due to the impactsof climate change. For example, a reduction in groundwaterdischarge and an increase in surface water temperature willstress fish and fish habitat (de Loë and Berg 2006).Ecological Restoration andEnvironmental Planning ToolsCommunication and EducationWatersheds often span numerous political boundaries.Therefore, agency, non-governmental partnerships, and citizeninvolvement is essential to the successful implementationof the South Niagara Falls watershed strategy. To facilitatecommunication between citizens and agencies in the watershed,a list of the major water resources legislation and agenciesgoverning water management in Ontario is provided in Box 2.In addition to partnering on public and private lands, policytools can be employed to foster environmentally responsibleland and water management in the watershed.Policy Tools and Incentive ProgramsPolicy tools related to water quality and quantity protection canbe implemented at the local or regional levels of government inthe watershed. Designed to allow for continued development,these tools ensure that water quality and quantity issues aretaken into consideration throughout the development process.Water protection policy tools might include municipal policies,incentive-based tools as well as other water conservation relatedtools. Specific examples of these policy tools are presentedhere.• Stormwater Management Policies require the control andtreatment of stormwater discharges to prevent flooding,minimize downstream channel erosion, and protect waterquality. The NPCA is currently developing a set of StormwaterPolicies for its jurisdiction.33
Page 10 and 11: Watershed ObjectivesEach watershed
Page 12 and 13: Figure 3: TopogRaphy6
Page 14: Figure 5: Geology8
Page 17 and 18: Town of Fort Erie. Some sections of
Page 19 and 20: Figure 8: Niagara River Area of Con
Page 21 and 22: WetlandsThe Ontario Wetland Evaluat
Page 23 and 24: The following descriptions of the r
Page 25 and 26: The Old Lincoln Street Woodlot is a
Page 27 and 28: Aquatic HabitatFish Community Studi
Page 29 and 30: Table 2: FISH SPECIES IN THE SOUTH
Page 31 and 32: Figure 13: MUNICIPAL DRAINS25
Page 33 and 34: Figure 14: WATER QUALITY AND POTENT
Page 35 and 36: Groundwater ResourcesA Groundwater
Page 37: Niagara Falls watershed, the roads
Page 42 and 43: Water Quality Best Management Pract
Page 44 and 45: and site alteration shall not be pe
Page 46 and 47: table 6: provincially rare species
Page 48 and 49: Figure 16: natural heritage system
Page 50 and 51: Figure 18: wetland suitability mapp
Page 52: Grassy Brook Restoration StrategyGr
Page 55 and 56: table 7: Grassy brook subwatershed
Page 57 and 58: Hunters Drain Restoration StrategyH
Page 59 and 60: table 8: hunters drain subwatershed
Page 61 and 62: Tee Creek Restoration StrategyThe m
Page 63 and 64: table 9: tee creek subwatershed res
Page 69 and 70: Lyons Creek Restoration StrategyThe
Page 71 and 72: Table 10: Lyons Creek Subwatershed
Page 79 and 80: Table 11: Usshers Creek Subwatershe
Page 85 and 86: portion of the subwatershed, and a
Page 87 and 88: Table 12: Bayers Creek Subwatershed
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Table 12: Bayers Creek Subwatershed
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Table 13: Niagara River 9 Subwaters
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Table 13: Niagara River 9 Subwaters
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WATERSHED PLANOBJECTIVESWATER RESOU
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WATERSHED PLANOBJECTIVESNATURAL HER
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The recommended actions have also b
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Environment Canada. 2004b. Best Man
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GlossaryArea of Concern: An area is
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South Niagara FallsAPPENDICES
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Land Management Issues and Concerns
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BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND RESTO
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Scoring Descriptions for Stream Vis
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APPENDIX bINSECT/INVERTEBRATE HABIT
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APPENDIX bSuspected Causes ofObserv
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BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES MENUAPPEN
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APPENDIX DSOUTH NIAGARA FALLS WETLA
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APPENDIX ESPECIES REFERENCE LISTSCI
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APPENDIX F
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APPENDIX FHABITAT: WETLANDCRITERIA:
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APPENDIX F
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APPENDIX F
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APPENDIX F
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APPENDIX F
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8132 - NPCA SNF Watershed Report.indd - Niagara Peninsula ...

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