Monthly Archive

City Stream Watch welcoming volunteers after two-year break

OTTAWA, April 29, 2022 – Ready to make a splash as you help your local environment? You’re in luck: after a two-year pause, the City Stream Watch program is finally back – with a lot of catching up to do. 

The RVCA-led program has monitored Ottawa’s 25 urban and rural creeks and streams since 2003, relying on enthusiastic volunteers to help with annual garbage clean-ups, invasive species removals, fish and water sampling, habitat assessments and shoreline naturalization projects. 

But all of that came to a grinding halt in the spring of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic limited RVCA’s ability to welcome volunteers to help conduct this crucial work.

Two years is a long time to go without any maintenance (remember your pandemic haircut!) and now RVCA is keen to catch up with as many volunteer clean-ups and monitoring sessions as possible throughout the warmer months.

Garbage clean-ups will be plentiful this season, according to RVCA aquatic biologist Jennifer Lamoureux. She said the city’s creeks are suffering from two years’ worth of trash that has blown in from nearby neighbourhoods and roads. 

“These urban waterways need special attention to remain clean and healthy habitats for the many fish and other aquatic species that live there,” Lamoureux said. “Some of these areas are highly built up, so we need to ensure the habitat that exists is actually liveable for all of the fish, frogs, turtles and waterfowl that rely on it.”

Volunteer groups will be needed on a variety of weekends to help clean up their neighbourhood streams, from Nepean to Orleans to Barrhaven and everywhere in between.

As well, the program is seeking a team of dedicated citizen scientists who can help staff measure water temperatures, assess shoreline and instream habitat characteristics and monitor local fish populations. This work will be limited to four waterways across the city this year: Sawmill Creek in South Keys, Black Rapids Creek in Nepean, Cardinal Creek in Orleans and Barrhaven Creek in Barrhaven. Monitoring efforts rotate annually between the 25 urban and rural streams, and this set hasn’t been monitored for more than six years. Volunteers will help staff collect this crucial data on dozens of sections of each stream between May and October. 

Interested volunteers can sign up at www.rvca.ca/volunteer/city-stream-watch or email . An orientation will take place May 28. RSVPs are required for all events. 

About City Stream Watch:

The City Stream Watch Program is a community-based partnership which includes the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, Heron Park Community Association, Ottawa Flyfishers Society, Rideau Roundtable, Canadian Forces Fish and Game Club, Ottawa Stewardship Council, City of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission. 

To read past monitoring reports visit www.rvca.ca/watershed-monitoring-reporting/reporting. 

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Annual Report offers glimpse into RVCA’s record-setting 2021

MANOTICK, April 5, 2022 – With another challenging year behind us, it’s clear the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority not only survived 2021, but thrived. 

The RVCA’s 2021 Annual Report is now available online. Despite continued disruption from the global pandemic, staff embarked on many special projects in 2021 that will continue into the coming year. This included: 

• installing 11 new climate stations across the watershed to improve our flood and drought forecasting, particularly in the face of a changing climate
• completing draft hazard mapping studies for the Upper Jock River and Stevens Creek
• kicking off an ambitious Watershed Report process to deliver a comprehensive snapshot of environmental conditions in the Rideau Valley 
• drafting updates to our planning and development policies to better align with provincial legislation and local needs 
• developing 5.5 hectares of new pollinator meadow habitat in Barrhaven in partnership with Hydro Ottawa and the Canadian Wildlife Federation

On top of this, RVCA staff continued to deliver our regular programs and services at record levels. In 2021, the RVCA: 

• welcomed 300,000 visitors to RVCA’s 11 conservation areas, up 50% over pre-pandemic numbers
• piloted a new virtual outdoor education program at Baxter Conservation Area, welcoming 1,612 students in partnership with the Ottawa Catholic School Board
• planted 230,100 trees throughout the watershed, with more than $356,000 fundraised
• Celebrated the 2 millionth tree planted through the City of Ottawa’s Green Acres program
• Completed 193 clean water projects and provided more than $478,000 in grants to rural farmers and landowners
• Naturalized 61 shoreline properties with 16,412 native trees and shrubs
• Distributed 1,440 free disease-tolerant butternut tree seedlings to landowners
• Dampled and surveyed dozens of streams, rivers and lakes for surface water quality, thanks in part to 13 community volunteers who filled lake sampling gaps created by COVID-19 limitations
• Issued 7 flood messages and 5 low water response messages
• Reviewed 1,874 Planning Act applications (site plan control, minor variances, severances, subdivision reviews and other development needs)
• Processed 1,376 septic system applications and inspections
• Processed a record 4,647 inquiries, applications, complaints and violations under the Conservation Authorities Act

The RVCA’s general manager Sommer Casgrain-Robertson also participated on the Province’s multi-stakeholder Conservation Authorities Working Group over the course of 2021 to provide input into new regulations under the Conservation Authorities Act.

“I am so proud of what the RVCA team has been able to accomplish under such challenging circumstances over the past two years,” said Casgrain-Robertson. “We have laid the groundwork for a healthy watershed, which in turn will support healthy communities, healthy economies and a healthy future. We look forward to a productive and exciting 2022.”

For your copy of the RVCA 2021 Annual Report, visit www.rvca.ca or call 613-692-3571 or 1-800-267-3504 for a hard copy.

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