Media Release
July 18, 2017
RVCA City Stream Watch Volunteers Celebrated
OTTAWA, July 19, 2017 — Six of Rideau Valley Conservation Authority’s (RVCA) biggest City Stream Watch volunteers were recognized in June with the presentation of Ontario Volunteer Service Awards. The Ontario Volunteer Service Awards recognize volunteers for providing committed and dedicated service to an organization. Congratulations to Sidney Arnold, Rebecca Cameron, Bruce Douglas Clarke, Francois Yvon Deslauriers, Peter Melvin and Peter Stewart-Burton. These six representatives regularly give their time to monitor and restore the health of Ottawa’s city streams through the City Stream Watch Program. “We are grateful for their time and devotion to the program,” says Rosario Castanon Escobar, City…
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How healthy is the Jock River? Readers can learn all about it in the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority’s (RVCA) Jock River Subwatershed Report. This information-loaded report summarizes the subwatershed’s health by looking at four indicators: forests, wetlands, shorelines and water quality. This is the second subwatershed report for the Jock River and compares baseline information collected from 2004 to 2015. Changes are small, but understanding how to prevent cumulative long-term changes is essential. The Jock River starts in the lush headwater wetlands in Beckwith and Montague Townships near Franktown. It then flows on through rich agricultural lands in the former municipalities of…
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The Mississippi-Rideau Drinking Water Source Protection (MRDWSP) staff will be meeting with land and business owners this summer in the communities of Almonte, Kemptville, Merrickville, Montague, Smiths Falls and Westport who may be using chemicals that could pose a risk to the municipal drinking water systems.The Mississippi-Rideau Drinking Water Source Protection (MRDWSP) staff will be meeting with land and business owners this summer in the communities of Almonte, Kemptville, Merrickville, Montague, Smiths Falls and Westport who may be using chemicals that could pose a risk to the municipal drinking water systems. This work is being done by MRDWSP staff on…
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June 20, 2017
RVCA Plants Over 275,000 Trees This Spring!
The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) is excited to announce that over 275,000 trees were planted this spring. RVCA and partners are well on the way to planting 6.5 million trees by 2020! RVCA’s private landowner tree planting program available throughout eastern Ontario, is the perfect way to get the direction, planting plan and any available incentive funding for reforesting projects. In cases where landowners plant over 2,000 trees, RVCA works with a number of partners (Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, City of Ottawa, Forests Ontario and local business) to keep costs as low as $0.15 per tree. Landowners…
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June 19, 2017
Work to Begin on Hutton Creek Wetland Restoration
In early July the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, with the support of many partners, will take the first steps towards the restoration of the Hutton Creek Wetland. With the successful decommissioning of the Motts Mills Dam and its replacement with a new earthen berm water control structure, it is now time to turn activities towards restoring the wetland. Once a popular location for hunting and other water activities, the Provincially Signi cant Wetland has slowly been choked out by massive cattail growth. Only 10 percent of the wetland remains as open water. As the open water area diminished so did…
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Recent high waters have caused erosion damage and damage to shoreline structures, particularly east of Cumberland along the Ottawa River and in the upper reaches (Tay Valley Watershed) of the Rideau Valley Watershed. The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) recognizes that some of the remedies for damage may need more than just a minor “tweak.” This is a reminder to all landowners to check with your local Conservation Authority to see if approval is required prior to doing any “clean-up” work along your shoreline (e.g., shoreline stabilization or repair to shore works, erosion control, dock construction, etc.). There are also…
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June 13, 2017
Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation Achieves Accreditation from Imagine Canada’s Standard Program
The Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation (RVCF) is pleased to announce that it has been accredited under Imagine Canada’s national Standards Program. With this achievement, RVCF joins a growing community of organizations dedicated to operational excellence. Just over 220 out of the more than 85,000 registered charities in Canada have earned the accreditation. Designed to strengthen public confidence in the charitable and non-profit sector, the program sets rigorous criteria that require organizations to demonstrate excellence in board governance, financial accountability and transparency, ethical fundraising, staff management and volunteer involvement. RVCF engaged in a two-year accreditation process and clearly demonstrated that its…
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Identifying hazard lands is an important responsibility for Ontario’s Conservation Authorities. During the last five years, the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) has been conducting several hazard mapping studies on watercourses within the City of Ottawa and the RVCA area of jurisdiction. For some watercourses, old mapping will be updated; and for others, hazards maps will be created for the first time. Studies look at identifying two main types of hazards along the watercourses: flood risk and slope stability risk. Flood risk studies make use of contemporary methods in hydrologic and hydraulic analysis,all the available historical records of…
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As part of the continuing commitment to support the community and improve its already environmentally friendly operations, Carleton Refrigeration, Heating and Air Conditioning Inc. will be planting 1,302 young, vigorous, native-Canadian trees in Ottawa. The company is the newest participant in Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation’s (RVCF) Carbon Neutral Program. Carleton Refrigeration, Heating and Air Conditioning is working with RVCF to calculate the amount of carbon emissions they produce (in tonnes of carbon dioxide) and then convert that into the number of trees to be planted to offset (or absorb) the carbon the company produces in their day-to-day operations. Each of…
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March 28, 2017
RVCA Celebrates Successful Year
The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) Board of Directors celebrated another successful year with the release of their 2016 Annual Report. The report highlights numerous on-the-ground projects that happened throughout the Rideau watershed that drains over 4,000 square kilometres in Eastern Ontario. For over 50 years RVCA, along with its many volunteers and partners, has been working to protect and enhance our local environment. Year after year, conservation authority staff, municipalities and partners continue to have a positive impact on the health and resilience of our watershed. Today’s investment in local watershed health will ensure a sustainable future that supports…
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March 27, 2017
RVCA Launches Strategic Plan
A renewed vision for a thriving watershed will guide the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) during the coming years. The RVCA board of directors unveiled its new strategic plan at its board meeting held March 23. The plan builds upon the Conservation Authority’s past 50 years of success and will guide it towards a sustainable future. RVCA Chair Lyle Pederson and General Manager Sommer Casgrain-Robertson are excited that the plan, entitled Conserving Our Watershed, Ensuring Our Future, charts a course to 2020. “We’ve worked hard to develop a set of strategies and plans that identify clear priorities for RVCA to…
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February 21, 2017
Live 88.5 Carbon Neutral Forest Grows
Canada’s first and only carbon neutral radio station continues in its efforts to plant trees and maintain its efforts to offset carbon emissions. Ottawa’s LiVE 88.5 FM will see another 5,700 trees planted in the southern Ottawa area to offset the carbon dioxide produced annually at their Ottawa broadcast centre. This brings their total to 39,900 trees planted since they decided to go carbon neutral in 2011. This adds up to over 20 hectares (50 acres) of forest. “LiVE 88.5 is proud to work with the RVCF to help grow and manage our expanding forest,” said Dan Youngs, Live 88.5…
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December 06, 2016
RVCA Celebrates 50 Years of Conservation
Special guests and dignitaries gathered to celebrate 50 years of conservation at the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority’s Anniversary Celebration on November 30. Surrounded by watershed representatives, politicians, past and present staff along with numerous friends and partners, RVCA Board of Director Members looked to acknowledge the many people, projects and partnerships behind a conservation movement that started in the early 1940s. “This was our opportunity to thank those who have helped us towards our goal of a thriving and sustainable watershed,” said Lyle Pederson, RVCA Chair and Elizabethtown-Kiltey representative. “Conservation of our land and water is not something you can…
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Media Release
November 17, 2016
Otter-Hutton Hazard Mapping Public Open Houses
Rideau Lakes, November 14, 2016 — Members of the public are invited to an upcoming open house to review hazard maps. The RVCA has completed draft hazard mapping for Otter Creek (from Otter Lake outlet to the Rideau River) and Hutton Creek (from the Motts Mills Dam to its confluence with Otter Creek). These maps are typically known as “floodplain mapping,” but they also show areas that are prone to natural hazards such as flooding, erosion and natural environment features such as wetlands. The mapping will be used by the Township of Elizabethtown-Kitley, the Township of Rideau Lakes and the…
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October 17, 2016
Ottawa Hazard Mapping Public Open Houses
Members of the public are invited to an upcoming open house to review hazard maps. The RVCA has just completed a review and update of existing hazard maps (floodplain and steep slopes) along the Rideau River from Hogs Back to Rideau Falls. These maps are typically known as “floodplain mapping,” but they also show areas that are prone to natural hazards such as flooding, erosion and unstable slopes and natural environment features such as wetlands. The mapping takes these features into consideration and will be used by the City of Ottawa and the Conservation Authority when updating Official Plans and…
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