What do Conservation Authorities Do?

RVCA strives to protect the natural resources in the Rideau Valley watershed. We, as do all Ontarians, have a special interest in protecting water resources from contamination and mis-use. Our mission is to undertake environmental protection programs today that will leave a legacy of clean water, natural shorelines and sustainable land use for future generations.

We take care of the watershed by learning as much as possible about how it works. How do all of the natural resource pieces such as creeks, streams, forests, plants, water quantities, water quality, precipitation, animals, wetlands, lakes, shorelines and soils work together in our valley? As we know more about these interactions, we become better equipped to make wise environmental management decisions and to advise our member municipalities and partners.

Some of our programs include reforestation, water quality testing, flood forecasting and warning, landowner incentive programs, landowner information services, septic system approvals and inspections, plan review and watershed planning. All of our programs and projects could not get done without the continued support of our member municipalities and our amazing community partners.

The RVCA is an inter-municipal environmental protection and advisory agency. Working together with local municipalities, government agencies, special interest groups and the general public, the authority strives to protect the numerous resources in the watershed. Our mission is to have clean water, natural shorelines and sustainable land use throughout the Rideau Valley watershed.

Rideau Watershed

The watershed of the Rideau River drains an area of over 4 000 square kilometres of Eastern Ontario. The main stem of the river flows in a northerly direction from Upper Rideau Lake near Newboro to the City of Ottawa where it tumbles over Rideau Falls into the Ottawa River. At Newboro, an artificial canal was constructed by Colonel By in 1832 to connect the north flowing Rideau with the south flowing Cataraqui system to create the Rideau Canal. Its original purpose was defence against American attack but now serves as a major navigational and recreational boating waterway.

The watershed includes well-known and well-loved towns such as Portland, Perth, Smiths Falls, Merrickville, Kemptville, and Manotick. About 620,000 people live in the watershed including a large part of the City of Ottawa, the fourth largest metropolitan area in Canada. There are 18 municipalities within the valley and most people, outside of Ottawa, draw their drinking water from the river or from groundwater.

Total length of the longest part of the watershed is about 180 km. From the highest point in the valley (Carnahan Lake in the Tay sub-watershed) to the Ottawa River is a drop of 204 m in elevation. An estimated 40% of the watershed is forested. The main agricultural activities include dairy, beef and cash crop farming.

In 2000, the Rideau Waterway including the main corridor from Ottawa to Newboro and the Tay Canal up to the Town of Perth was recognized as a Canadian Heritage River by the people of Canada because of its important cultural and recreational characteristics.

Healthy Watersheds

Healthy watersheds lead to healthy, livable communities. Our streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands and flood plains are precious resources that give many benefits to people. These include stress relief, recreation, quality family time, personal health and human opportunities that help make Canada the best country in the world in which to live.

But theses resources need special care. By everyone. One group, government agency or lake association can’t do it on their own. It takes a community effort to learn about, respect and protect clean healthy rivers, natural shorelines and that vulnerable “ribbon of life” where the water meets the shore. And protection is best accomplished using the watershed approach, especially for water systems where everything flows downhill into another lake or stream.

Clean water, abundant fish and wildlife, natural shorelines and healthy sustainable ecosystems make the Rideau Valley something quite special. With your help, we can make sure that our children will see it that way too.