Tay River - Port Elmsley

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4.0 Port Elmsley Catchment: Land Cover

Land cover and any change in coverage that has occurred over a six year period is summarized for the Port Elmsley catchment using spatially continuous vector data representing the catchment during the spring of 2008 and 2014. This dataset was developed by the RVCA through heads-up digitization of 20cm DRAPE ortho-imagery at a 1:4000 scale and details the surrounding landscape using 10 land cover classes.

4.1 Port Elmsley Catchment Land Cover/Change

As shown in Table 7 and Figure 1, the dominant land cover type in 2014 is crop and pastureland.

From 2008 to 2014, there was an overall change of 30 hectares (from one land cover class to another). Most of the change in the Port Elmsley catchment is a result of crop and pastureland being converted to  settlement and reverting to woodland (Figure 48).

Figure 48 Land cover change in the Port Elmsley catchment (2014)

Table 8 provides a detailed breakdown of all land cover change that has taken place in the Port Elmsley catchment between 2008 and 2014.

4.2 Woodland Cover

In the Environment Canada Guideline (Third Edition) entitled “How Much Habitat Is Enough?” (hereafter referred to as the “Guideline”) the opening narrative under the Forest Habitat Guidelines section states that prior to European settlement, forest was the predominant habitat in the Mixedwood Plains ecozone. The remnants of this once vast forest now exist in a fragmented state in many areas (including the Rideau Valley watershed) with woodland patches of various sizes distributed across the settled landscape along with higher levels of forest cover associated with features such as the Frontenac Axis (within the on-Shield areas of the Rideau Lakes and Tay River subwatersheds). The forest legacy, in terms of the many types of wildlife species found, overall species richness, ecological functions provided and ecosystem complexity is still evident in the patches and regional forest matrices (found in the Tay River subwatershed and elsewhere in the Rideau Valley watershed). These ecological features are in addition to other influences which forests have on water quality and stream hydrology including reducing soil erosion, producing oxygen, storing carbon along with many other ecological services that are essential not only for wildlife but for human well-being.

The Guideline also notes that forests provide a great many habitat niches that are in turn occupied by a great diversity of plant and animal species. They provide food, water and shelter for these species - whether they are breeding and resident locally or using forest cover to help them move across the landscape. This diversity of species includes many that are considered to be species at risk. Furthermore, from a wildlife perspective, there is increasing evidence that the total forest cover in a given area is a major predictor of the persistence and size of bird populations, and it is possible or perhaps likely that this pattern extends to other flora and fauna groups. The overall effect of a decrease in forest cover on birds in fragmented landscapes is that certain species disappear and many of the remaining ones become rare, or fail to reproduce, while species adapted to more open and successional habitats, as well as those that are more tolerant to human-induced disturbances in general, are able to persist and in some cases thrive. Species with specialized-habitat requirements are most likely to be adversely affected. The overall pattern of distribution of forest cover, the shape, area and juxtaposition of remaining forest patches and the quality of forest cover also play major roles in determining how valuable forests will be to wildlife and people alike.

The current science generally supports minimum forest habitat requirements between 30 and 50 percent, with some limited evidence that the upper limit may be even higher, depending on the organism/species phenomenon under investigation or land-use/resource management planning regime being considered/used.

As shown in Figure 49, 20 percent of the Port Elmsley catchment contains 937 hectares of upland forest and 81 hectares of lowland forest (treed swamps) versus the 47 percent of woodland cover in the Tay River subwatershed. This is greater than the 30 percent of forest cover that is identified as the minimum threshold required to sustain forest birds according to the Guideline and which may only support less than one half of potential species richness and marginally healthy aquatic systems. When forest cover drops below 30 percent, forest birds tend to disappear as breeders across the landscape.

Figure 49 Woodland cover and forest interior in the Port Elmsley catchment (2014)

4.2.1 Woodland (Patch) Size

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Natural Heritage Reference Manual (Second Edition), larger woodlands are more likely to contain a greater diversity of plant and animal species and communities than smaller woodlands and have a greater relative importance for mobile animal species such as forest birds.

Bigger forests often provide a different type of habitat. Many forest birds breed far more successfully in larger forests than they do in smaller woodlots and some rely heavily on forest interior conditions. Populations are often healthier in regions with more forest cover and where forest fragments are grouped closely together or connected by corridors of natural habitat. Small forests support small numbers of wildlife. Some species are “area-sensitive” and tend not to inhabit small woodlands, regardless of forest interior conditions. Fragmented habitat also isolates local populations, especially small mammals, amphibians and reptiles with limited mobility. This reduces the healthy mixing of genetic traits that helps populations survive over the long run (Conserving the Forest Interior. Ontario Extension Notes, 2000).

The Environment Canada Guideline also notes that for forest plants that do not disperse broadly or quickly, preservation of some relatively undisturbed large forest patches is needed to sustain them because of their restricted dispersal abilities and specialized habitat requirements and to ensure continued seed or propagation sources for restored or regenerating areas nearby.

The Natural Heritage Reference Manual continues by stating that a larger size also allows woodlands to support more resilient nutrient cycles and food webs and to be big enough to permit different and important successional stages to co-exist. Small, isolated woodlands are more susceptible to the effects of blowdown, drought, disease, insect infestations, and invasions by predators and non-indigenous plants. It is also known that the viability of woodland wildlife depends not only on the characteristics of the woodland in which they reside, but also on the characteristics of the surrounding landscape where the woodland is situated. Additionally, the percentage of forest cover in the surrounding landscape, the presence of ecological barriers such as roads, the ability of various species to cross the matrix surrounding the woodland and the proximity of adjacent habitats interact with woodland size in influencing the species assemblage within a woodland.

In the Port Elmsley catchment (in 2014), one hundred and one (48 percent) of the 209 woodland patches are very small, being less than one hectare in size. Another 94 (45 percent) of the woodland patches ranging from one to less than 20 hectares in size tend to be dominated by edge-tolerant bird species. The remaining 14 (seven percent of) woodland patches range between 22 and 129 hectares in size. Thirteen of these patches contain woodland between 20 and 100 hectares and may support a few area-sensitive species and some edge intolerant species, but will be dominated by edge tolerant species.

Conversely, one (less than one percent) of the 209 woodland patches in the drainage area exceed the 100 plus hectare size needed to support most forest dependent, area sensitive birds and are large enough to support approximately 60 percent of edge-intolerant species. No patch tops 200 hectares, which according to the Environment Canada Guideline will support 80 percent of edge-intolerant forest bird species (including most area sensitive species) that prefer interior forest habitat conditions.

Table 9 presents a comparison of woodland patch size in 2008 and 2014 along with any changes that have occurred over that time. A decrease (of  one hectare) has been observed in the overall woodland patch area between the two reporting periods with most change occurring in the 20 to 50 woodland patch size class range. Seven new woodland patches have been created as a result of the forest loss/gain portrayed in Figure 49, some of which has resulted in an increase in forest fragmentation across the catchment.

4.2.2 Woodland (Forest) Interior Habitat

The forest interior is habitat deep within woodlands. It is a sheltered, secluded environment away from the influence of forest edges and open habitats. Some people call it the “core” or the “heart” of a woodland. The presence of forest interior is a good sign of woodland health, and is directly related to the woodland’s size and shape. Large woodlands with round or square outlines have the greatest amount of forest interior. Small, narrow woodlands may have no forest interior conditions at all. Forest interior habitat is a remnant natural environment, reminiscent of the extensive, continuous forests of the past. This increasingly rare forest habitat is now a refuge for certain forest-dependent wildlife; they simply must have it to survive and thrive in a fragmented forest landscape (Conserving the Forest Interior. Ontario Extension Notes, 2000).

The Natural Heritage Reference Manual states that woodland interior habitat is usually defined as habitat more than 100 metres from the edge of the woodland and provides for relative seclusion from outside influences along with a moister, more sheltered and productive forest habitat for certain area sensitive species. Woodlands with interior habitat have centres that are more clearly buffered against the edge effects of agricultural activities or more harmful urban activities than those without.

In the Port Elmsley catchment (in 2014), the 209 woodland patches contain 20 forest interior patches (Figure 49) that occupy seven percent (656 ha.) of the catchment land area (which is greater than the five percent of interior forest in the Tay River Subwatershed). This is below the ten percent figure referred to in the Environment Canada Guideline that is considered to be the minimum threshold for supporting edge intolerant bird species and other forest dwelling species in the landscape.

Most patches (19) have less than 10 hectares of interior forest, 11 of which have small areas of interior forest habitat less than one hectare in size. The remaining patch contains 127 hectares of interior forest. Between 2008 and 2014, there has been no change in the number and area of woodland patches containing interior habitat (Table 10).

4.3 Wetland Cover

Wetlands are habitats forming the interface between aquatic and terrestrial systems. They are among the most productive and biologically diverse habitats on the planet. By the 1980s, according to the Natural Heritage Reference Manual, 68 percent of the original wetlands south of the Precambrian Shield in Ontario had been lost through encroachment, land clearance, drainage and filling.

Wetlands perform a number of important ecological and hydrological functions and provide an array of social and economic benefits that society values. Maintaining wetland cover in a watershed provides many ecological, economic, hydrological and social benefits that are listed in the Reference Manual and which may include:

• contributing to the stabilization of shorelines and to the reduction of erosion damage through the mitigation of water flow and soil binding by plant roots
• mitigating surface water flow by storing water during periods of peak flow (such as spring snowmelt and heavy rainfall events) and releasing water during periods of low flow (this mitigation of water flow also contributes to a reduction of flood damage)
• contributing to an improved water quality through the trapping of sediments, the removal and/or retention of excess nutrients, the immobilization and/or degradation of contaminants and the removal of bacteria
• providing renewable harvesting of timber, fuel wood, fish, wildlife and wild rice
• contributing to a stable, long-term water supply in areas of groundwater recharge and discharge
• providing a high diversity of habitats that support a wide variety of plants and animals
• acting as “carbon sinks” making a significant contribution to carbon storage
• providing opportunities for recreation, education, research and tourism

Historically, the overall wetland coverage within the Great Lakes basin exceeded 10 percent, but there was significant variability among watersheds and jurisdictions, as stated in the Environment Canada Guideline. In the Rideau Valley Watershed, it has been estimated that pre-settlement wetland cover averaged 35 percent using information provided by Ducks Unlimited Canada (2010) versus the 21 percent of wetland cover existing in 2014 derived from DRAPE imagery analysis.

Figure 50 Wetland cover in the Port Elmsley catchment (Historic to 2014)

This decline in wetland cover is also evident in the Port Elmsley catchment (as seen in Figure 50 and summarized in Table 11), where wetland was reported to cover 45 percent of the area prior to settlement, as compared to 20 percent in 2014. This represents a 55 percent loss of historic wetland cover. To maintain critical hydrological, ecological functions along with related recreational and economic benefits provided by these wetland habitats in the catchment, a “no net loss” of currently existing wetlands should be employed to ensure the continued provision of tangible benefits accruing from them to landowners and surrounding communities.

4.4 Shoreline Cover

The riparian or shoreline zone is that special area where the land meets the water. Well-vegetated shorelines are critically important in protecting water quality and creating healthy aquatic habitats, lakes and rivers. Natural shorelines intercept sediments and contaminants that could impact water quality conditions and harm fish habitat in streams. Well established buffers protect the banks against erosion, improve habitat for fish by shading and cooling the water and provide protection for birds and other wildlife that feed and rear young near water. A recommended target (from the Environment Canada Guideline) is to maintain a minimum 30 metre wide vegetated buffer along at least 75 percent of the length of both sides of rivers, creeks and streams.

Figure 51 shows the extent of the ‘Natural’ vegetated riparian zone (predominantly wetland/woodland features) and ‘Other’ anthropogenic cover (crop/pastureland, roads/railways, settlements) along a 30-metre-wide area of land, both sides of the shoreline of the Tay River and its tributaries in the Port Elmsley catchment.

Figure 51 Natural and other riparian land cover in the Port Elmsley catchment (2014)

This analysis shows that the riparian zone in the Port Elmsley catchment is composed of crop and pastureland (42 percent), wetland (34 percent), woodland (14 percent), settlement (four percent), meadow-thicket (four percent) and transportation routes (two percent). Along the many watercourses (including headwater streams) flowing into the Tay River in the catchment, the riparian buffer is composed of crop and pastureland (55 percent), wetland (22 percent), woodland (14 percent), meadow-thicket (four percent), settlement areas (three percent) and transportation routes (two percent). Along the Tay River itself, the riparian zone is composed of wetland (72 percent), woodland (14 percent), crop and pastureland (six percent), meadow-thicket (four percent) and settlement (four percent).    

Additional statistics for the Port Elmsley catchment are presented in Tables 12, 13 and 14 and show that there has been very little change in shoreline cover from 2008 to 2014.

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5.0 Port Elmsley Catchment: Stewardship and Water Resources Protection

The RVCA and its partners are working to protect and enhance environmental conditions in the Tay River Watershed. Figure 52 shows the location of all stewardship projects completed in the Port Elmsley catchment.

Figure 52 Stewardship site locations in the Port Elmsley catchment

5.1 Rural Clean Water

The Rural Clean Water Program provides technical and financial assistance to farmers and other rural landowners, to aid in the implementation of projects that protect water quality. Funding is granted to those projects that support best management practices for application in the protection and improvement of surface and ground water resources.  The program also supports climate change adaptation and low impact development projects as well as educating rural landowners about environmental stewardship of private property. Examples of supported projects include livestock exclusion fencing, controlled tile drainage, cover crops, erosion control, well related projects, and many more. For a list of eligible projects and to apply for funding, see Rural Clean Water.

In the Port Elmsley catchment from 2011 to 2016, two well decommissionings, one septic system repair, one well upgrade, one education initiative and one livestock fencing project were completed; prior to this, four livestock fencing projects, three septic system repairs, three well upgrades, two well decommissionings and one well replacement had been completed.

When combined, these projects are keeping  60.49 kilograms of Phosphorus out of our lakes, rivers and streams every year. Total value of all 19 projects is $94,803 with $39,177 of that amount funded through grant dollars from the RVCA.

5.2 Private Land Forestry

Forest cover and tree planting continues to be one of the most widely supported strategies to improve our environment. The many benefits of forest cover include carbon sequestration, flood mitigation and water quality improvement as well as providing wildlife habitat.

Through the RVCA's Trees for Tomorrow Program (and its predecessors), 18,700 trees were planted at five sites from 2011 to 2016; prior to this, 25,830 trees were planted at five sites. In total, 44,530 trees have been planted resulting in the reforestation of 24 hectares. Total project value of all ten projects in the Port Elmsley catchment is $72,353 with $50,588 of that amount coming from fundraising sources. For more information about the Program and landowner eligibility, please see the following: Tree Planting in the Rideau Valley Watershed and Trees for Tomorrow.

An additional 152 butternut trees were planted through the RVCA Butternut Recovery Program in the Port Elmsley catchment, as part of efforts to introduce healthy seedlings from tolerant butternuts into various locations across Eastern Ontario.

5.3 Shoreline Naturalization

Natural shoreline buffers rich in native plants are critically important to protecting the health of our lakes, rivers and streams. Shoreline vegetation protects water quality and aquatic habitat by intercepting potentially harmful contaminants such as nutrients, pollutants and sediment, regulating water temperatures, slowing runoff and providing important fish and wildlife habitat. Natural shorelines also help improve climate change resiliency by increasing flood storage and providing protection from erosion during extreme weather events.

As of the end of 2016, no shoreline projects had been carried out in the Port Elmsley catchment. Landowners may wish to take advantage of the RVCA's Shoreline Naturalization Program to assist them with the naturalization of their shorelines to see the benefits noted above (and more).

5.4 Valley, Stream, Wetland and Hazard Lands

The Port Elmsley catchment covers 50.9 square kilometres with 12.8 square kilometres (or 25.1 percent) of the drainage area being within the regulation limit of Ontario Regulation 174/06 (Figure 53), giving protection to wetland areas and river or stream valleys that are affected by flooding and erosion hazards.

Wetlands occupy 10 square kilometres (or 19.6 percent) of the catchment. Of these wetlands, six square kilometres (or 60 percent) are designated as provincially significant and included within the RVCA regulation limit. This leaves the remaining four square kilometres (or 40 percent) of wetlands in the catchment outside the regulated area limit.

Of the 66.6 kilometres of stream in the catchment, regulation limit mapping has been plotted along 26 kilometers of streams (representing 39 percent of all streams in the catchment). Some of these regulated streams (7.8 km) flow through regulated wetlands; the remaining 18.2 kilometres of regulated streams are located outside of those wetlands. Plotting of the regulation limit on the remaining 40.6 kilometres (or 61 percent) of streams requires identification of flood and erosion hazards and valley systems.

Within those areas of the Port Elmsley catchment subject to the regulation (limit), efforts (have been made and) continue through RVCA planning and regulations input and review to manage the impact of development (and other land management practices) in areas where “natural hazards” are associated with rivers, streams, valley lands and wetlands. For areas beyond the regulation limit, protection of the catchment’s watercourses is provided through the “alteration to waterways” provision of the regulation.

Figure 53 Regulated natural features and hazards in the Port Elmsley catchment

5.5 Vulnerable Drinking Water Areas

The Mississippi-Rideau Source Water Protection Program has mapped the southwestern boundary of the Port Elmsley catchment as a Significant Groundwater Recharge Areas and all of the catchment as a Highly Vulnerable Aquifer. This means that the nature of the overburden (thin soils, fractured bedrock) does not provide a high level of protection for the underlying groundwater making the aquifer more vulnerable to contaminants released on the surface. There are no Well-Head Protection Areas in the catchment.

The Mississippi-Rideau Source Protection Plan includes policies that focus on the protection of groundwater region-wide due to the fact that most of the region, which encompasses the Mississippi and Rideau watersheds, is considered Highly Vulnerable Aquifer. For detailed maps and policies that have been developed to protect drinking water sources, visit the Mississippi-Rideau Source Protection Region website.

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6.0 Port Elmsley Catchment: Accomplishments/Activities

In-stream/Fish Habitat

Six kilometres of the Tay River in the catchment have been surveyed and 19 headwaters sites are sampled once every six years by the RVCA using the Ontario Stream Assessment Protocol.

The report "Fish Habitat of the Tay River Watershed: Existing Conditions and Opportunities for Enhancement" was prepared in 2002 by MNR, RVCA, Parks Canada and DFO. A number of specific fish habitat enhancement projects are identified in it to improve the fishery along the Tay River (see pp.93-100).

Tree Planting

44,530 trees have been planted at ten sites in the Port Elmsley catchment by the RVCA Private Land Forestry Program, resulting in the reforestation of 24 hectares.

Water Quality

The Town of Perth wastewater treatment facility is located on the south side of the Tay River, adjacent to the Tay Marsh. The outflow from the Perth sewage lagoons has impacted water downstream for decades. Outflow quality has, on the average, been within provincial limits, but inevitably has had an impact on the Tay Marsh and is one of (many) sources encouraging excessive vegetation growth in the wetland, which damages its fish and wildlife habitat. In response to concerns raised about the impact of the Town of Perth wastewater treatment facility on the Tay River and Tay Marsh, the Town has taken action over the years to reduce its effect on surface water quality in the system, which, from cursory observation has been beneficial, and more recently enhanced with an innovative phosphorus reduction system (per.comm.FoTW).

Two stream monitoring sites on the Tay River in the catchment are sampled yearly by the RVCA for 22 parameters at each location, six times a year, to assess surface chemistry water quality conditions. A decline in total phosphorus concentrations has been observed at both of these sites over the 2006-2017 period, which should be taken as a positive sign that cumulative changes on the landscape have benefited water quality conditions (including improvements made to the treatment of the Town of Perth's wastewater).

One Ontario Benthic Biomonitoring Network site on the Tay River in the catchment is sampled by the RVCA in the spring and fall of each year with three replicates, to assess instream biological water quality conditions.

Nineteen Clean Water projects were completed by the RVCA Rural Clean Water Program.

Waterway Planning and Management

The Tay Watershed Management Plan (2002) brought together a diverse group of watershed stakeholders to exchange information and opinions on the challenges facing the watershed. This forum focused the community on the need for managing the Tay Watershed, requiring positive cooperation amongst a range of stakeholders and helped develop a foundation of data and information on the watershed and resources against which later developments and trends are being measured and decisions are being made. 

The Plan also led to the formation of the Friends of the Tay Watershed Association, who have been instrumental in implementing 20 of 24 management plan recommendations. In the opinion of the Association, one of the most significant measures of success for the water protection activities carried out in the Tay watershed is that there has never been a serious environmental pollution incident that threatened the area’s drinking water or its recreational waterbodies. To this day, the Friends of the Tay Watershed remain committed to preserving and enhancing the health of the Tay River watershed through their work.

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7.0 Port Elmsley Catchment: Challenges/Issues

Headwaters/In-stream Habitat/Shorelines

Headwater and tributary streams in the Port Elmsley catchment have 40 percent of the total length of their shoreline composed of natural vegetation. This is below the 75 percent target that is recommended by experts for the catchment’s watercourses, 30 metres back from both sides of a stream, river or lake (see Section 4.4 of this report).

Thirteen of 19 sampled headwater stream sites have been modified (10 are channelized, 3 are ditched; see Section 3.4.2 of this report). 

Land Cover

Land cover has changed across the catchment (2008 to 2014) largely as a result of an increase in the area of settlement (23 ha.) and wetland (12 ha.) and loss of crop and pastureland (20 ha.) and woodland (12 ha.)(see Section 4.1 of this report).

Wetlands have declined by fifty-five percent since European pre-settlement and now cover 20 percent (1033 ha.) of the catchment (in 2014). Forty-seven percent (482 ha.) of these wetlands remain unevaluated/unregulated and although they are not under imminent threat from development activity, they do remain vulnerable to drainage and land clearing activities in the absence of any regulatory and planning controls that would otherwise protect them for the many important hydrological, social, biological and ecological functions/services/values they provide to landowners and the surrounding community (see Section 4.3 of this report).

Woodlands cover 20 percent of the catchment. This is below the 30 percent of forest cover that is identified as the minimum threshold for sustaining forest birds and other woodland dependent species ( see Section 4.2 of this report) .

Water Levels

The Tay River through the Village of Port Elmsley has a history of ice damming that has resulted in overland flow through the Pointview subdivision, between the Tay River and Lower Rideau Lake.

Stream flow (high, low and base) is unrecorded and water level is measured with a manual staff gauge at the Beveridges Dam along this reach of the Tay River in the Port Elmsley catchment.             .

Water Quality

Surface chemistry water quality rating along the Tay River in the Port Elmsley catchment is Good at the Tay Marsh and Village of Port Elmsley monitoring sites . No apparent water quality concerns are reported for this reach of the Tay River ( see Section 2.1 of this report).

Instream biological water quality condition in the Tay River is Fair at the Port Elmsley Road crossing . S amples shift from benthic invertebrate species that are sensitive to high organic pollution levels in the fall to species that are more tolerant of those high levels in the spring (see Section 3.3.1 of this report).

The Town of Perth wastewater treatment facility is located on the south side of the Tay River, adjacent to the Tay Marsh. The outflow from the Perth sewage lagoons has impacted water downstream for decades. Outflow quality has, on the average, been within provincial limits, but inevitably has had an impact on the Tay Marsh and is one of (many) sources encouraging excessive vegetation growth in the wetland, which damages its fish and wildlife habitat (per.comm.FoTW).

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8.0 Port Elmsley Catchment: Actions/Opportunities

Aquatic Habitat/Fisheries

Educate waterfront property owners about fish habitat requirements, spawning timing and near-shore and in-water activities that can disturb or destroy fish habitat and spawning sites.

Work with various partners, including Drummond/North Elmsley Township, landowners and the Friends of the Tay Watershed Association on fish habitat enhancement projects in the Tay River watershed, building off of new knowledge and the recommendations as described in the report "Fish Habitat of the Tay River Watershed: Existing Conditions and Opportunities for Enhancement" (2002) prepared by MNR, RVCA, Parks Canada, and DFO.

Development

Work with approval authorities (Drummond/North Elmsley Township, Lanark County, Leeds Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit, Mississippi Rideau Septic System Office and RVCA) and landowners to consistently implement current land use planning and development policies for water quality and shoreline protection adjacent to the Tay River and headwater streams in the catchment (i.e., a minimum 30 metre development setback from water).

Explore ways and means to more effectively implement and enforce conditions of land-use planning and development approval to achieve net environmental gains (particularly with respect to rehabilitating or protecting naturally vegetated shorelines and water quality).

Encourage Committees of Adjustment to take advantage of technical and environmental information and recommendations forthcoming from planning and environmental professionals.

Ongoing education and dialogue regarding the regulatory floodplain, its implementation and the effect it has on development continues to represent an opportunity to assist the public in understanding the importance of planning, which respects this natural hazard.

Municipalities in the Tay Watershed are encouraged to strengthen natural heritage and water resources official plan policies and zoning provisions (pertaining to water setbacks, frontage and naturalized shorelines and wetland protection) where deemed appropriate.

Work with Drummond/North Elmsley Township, Lanark County and agencies to ensure that development approvals along watercourses take into consideration the protection of fish habitat (including the near-shore nursery and spawning habitat).

Utilise RVCA subwatershed and catchment reports to help develop, revise and implement official plan policies to protect surface water resources and the natural environment (including woodlands, wetlands and shoreline cover).

Land Cover

Consider reforestation of the Port Elmsley catchment to raise the current level of forest cover (at 20 percent) above the recommended 30 percent minimum threshold that is needed to sustain woodland dependent species and woodland biodiversity on the landscape. Reaching this target will also help to improve the capacity of the forests in the catchment to reduce flooding and water-borne soil erosion, store more carbon and dampen the effects of the changing climate. Take advantage of the RVCA Trees for Tomorrow Program to achieve this on idle and/or marginal land.

Establish RVCA regulation limits around the 48 percent (482 ha.) of wetlands in the catchment that are unevaluated. Doing this will help protect landowners from natural hazards including  mitigating surface water flow by storing water during periods of peak flow (such as spring snowmelt and heavy rainfall events) and releasing water during periods of low flow (this mitigation of water flow reduces flood damage), as well as contributing to the stabilization of shorelines and to the reduction of soil erosion damage through water flow mitigation and plant soil binding/retention.

Shorelines

Take advantage of the RVCA  Shoreline Naturalization Program to re-naturalize altered creek and stream shoreline identified in this report as “Unnatural Riparian Land Cover". Target shoreline restoration at sites shown in orange on the Riparian Land Cover map (see Figure 51 in Section 4.4 of this report). Concentrate stewardship efforts along the tributaries of the Tay River in the catchment, which have 40 percent of the total length of their shoreline composed of natural vegetation (this is below the recommended 30 metre wide, naturally vegetated shoreline buffer target to be aimed for along 75 percent of the length of the catchment’s watercourses). Other stewardship opportunities in the catchment may be determined based on septic system inspections and surface water quality monitoring results.

Promote the use of bioengineering methods (using native shrub/tree planting, fascines, live stakes) as a shoreline erosion mitigation measure as well as a cost effective alternative to shoreline hardening (with rip rap, armour stone, gabion baskets, walls).

Educate landowners about the value and importance of natural shorelines and property best management practices with respect to shoreline use and development, septic system installation and maintenance and shoreline vegetation retention and enhancement (Drummond/North Elmsley Township, Leeds Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit, Mississippi Rideau Septic System Office and RVCA).

Water Quality

Consider further investigation of the Fair instream biological water quality rating on the Tay River in the catchment as part of a review of RVCA's Baseline and Benthic Invertebrate surface water quality monitoring.

Offer funding provided by the RVCA Rural Clean Water Program to landowners with potential projects that could improve water quality (e.g., livestock fencing, septic system repair/ replacement and streambank erosion control/stabilisation).

Educate waterfront property owners about septic system care by providing information about sewage system maintenance (i.e., when to pump out septic systems and holding talks) through initiatives such as the Septic Savvy Workshop and services provided by the Mississippi Rideau Septic System Office.

Reduce pollutant loading to the Tay River in the catchment through education about the application of shoreline, stormwater and agricultural best management practices; also consider using low impact development (LID) methods to improve the quality and reduce the amount of stormwater runoff directly reaching the river ecosystem. This will be particularly beneficial in areas with extensive impervious surfaces (i.e., asphalt, concrete, buildings, and severely compacted soils) or on sensitive shoreline properties (with steep slopes/banks, shallow/impermeable soils).

In response to concerns raised about the impact of the Town of Perth wastewater treatment facility on the Tay River and Tay Marsh, the Town has taken action over the years to reduce its effect on surface water quality in the system, which, from cursory observation has been beneficial, and more recently enhanced with an innovative phosphorus reduction system (per.comm.FoTW).

Water Levels

Install stream flow and water level instrumentation along this reach of the Tay River in the Port Elmsley catchment.

The Friends of the Tay Watershed Association has developed the Tay Net (Tay Waterway Communication Network) over the past two years to provide early notice of significant changes in water level along the Tay River. Tay Net is now developing it into a ‘Riverwatch’ program for the waterway.*

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