 The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, in partnership with five other agencies in Ottawa ( City of Ottawa, Heron Park Community Association, Ottawa Flyfishers Society, Rideau Roundtable and National Defense HQ – Fish and Game Club ) initiated the City Stream Watch program in 2003, which has proved very successful and is now moving into its eighth year.
 The goal of the program is to obtain, record, and manage valuable information on the physical and biological characteristics of creeks and streams in the City of Ottawa, while ensuring that they are respected and valued natural features of the communities through which they flow. To this end, the program relies on and encourages the interest and commitment of volunteers from the community, guided by an experienced coordinator, to learn and conduct macro stream assessments on local waterways, participate in sampling fish communities through seining, and assist in stream clean-ups and stream rehabilitation projects.
 The City Stream Watch program uses a macro stream assessment protocol originally developed by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Officials at the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, to facilitate its use by community volunteers, have since altered the protocol. Development of the protocol was essential, as volunteer groups consist of people with a variety of educational backgrounds and experiences.
From 2003 to 2009 the City Stream watch program has grown and expanded its studies to sample more urban streams and offer volunteers the chance to work on many different projects. From its inception in 2003, volunteer numbers have grown from 26 to 237. In 2009, community volunteers worked a total of 1,520 hours on a number of different projects on city streams!
 The Stream Watch program is constantly evolving and implementing new projects for volunteers to get involved with. Below is a list of some of the projects volunteers have participated in over the past seven years:
- City Stream Watch training workshops to train volunteers on sampling methods
- Fish sampling and identification sessions through seine netting, electrofishing, fyke nets and windemere traps
- Riparian tree planting on failed banks and eroded sections of stream
- Benthic macroinvertebrate sampling and identification sessions • Macro stream assessments on various streams throughout the City of Ottawa (ongoing from May – October)
- Stream cleanups to rid streams of non-natural garbage and debris
- • Temperature profiling of city streams
- Ultimate Aquatic Workshop: benthic i.d. and flyfishing demonstrations with the Ottawa Flyfishers Society and RVCA staff
- Dog-strangling vine removal on Green’s Creek and Sawmill Creek
The City Stream Watch program also extends it efforts to get high schools, scout troops and other community groups educated and involved in environmental monitoring.
 For more information on projects or how to become a volunteer please contact:
Julia Sutton
City Stream Watch Co-ordinator
613-692-3571 ext. 1180
citystreamwatch@rvca.ca
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