The Credit River Alliance strongly urge municipal and regional governments to put in place the following protective measures to maintain and improve the health of the Credit River Watershed.
- Develop an effective ‘storm water management and regulation’ plan to moderate peak flow and increased volume flows in the watershed.
- Put in place stronger ‘sediment control’ regulations and enforcement.
- Allocate annual funding for land acquisition of sensitive sites in the watershed.
- Do not permit stream course alteration in the watershed.
- Limit water-taking permits in conjunction with other levels of government
- Allocate annual funding for tree planting along 75% of stream corridors and develop partnership programmes with groups in the Credit River Alliance who can help.
- Put incentives in place to increase wetlands and forest cover in the watershed.
All these recommendations are important to the on-going viability of the river. An ounce of prevention at this stage will save in the future, the very expensive rehabilitation costs of erosion to the riverbanks and river bottom.
Supporters of The Credit River Alliance can be part of the solution and we invite all levels of government and their agencies to partner with us in this endeavour.
An Explanation of the Recommendations
Silt run-off from construction sites as well as agriculture, choke the river with sediment and we need better monitoring and stricter enforcement in place to restrict this. Those in violation could be controlled with ‘stop work orders’ for more effective prevention at the municipal level. Dealing with it after the environmental degradation has taken place is too late.
Inadequate storm water management must be made more effective to reduce flood peaks, to extend run-off periods and stabilize the river’s flow. Without this, erosion will further badly damage the river.
Healthy rivers and communities in the watershed depend on a sustainable water supply. Groundwater aquifers play a key role in holding back and slowly releasing constant amounts of water. The Credit’s base flow is 65% dependent on the groundwater supply and the MNR indicates that this groundwater contribution is essential to the health of our watershed.
We need to wisely limit the amount of groundwater taken for municipal, commercial and industrial uses, if we are to sustain our supply.
We request that all levels of government protect and improve critical groundwater recharge areas in the watershed.
Ontario has lost a staggering 75% of its wetlands and the Credit Valley has experienced its fair share of this disappearance.
Environment Canada recommends that a healthy watershed should have 10% wetlands whereas the Credit only stands at 6%. The same is true for forest cover. Environment Canada recommends a 30% forest cover and the Credit stands at less than 15%.
Adding wetlands and forest cover will help us maintain our groundwater supply. Re-foresting stream corridors, especially in critical re-charge areas; acquiring and restoring land around sensitive sites are all positive steps that can help counter cumulative impacts.
Member groups within the Credit River Alliance have expertise in working with the CVC in conservation, stewardship and public education programmes and we invite all levels of government and their agencies to partner with us as well.
The time to act is now, to maintain the river for future generations.