RIDEAU VALLEY, June 12, 2025 – 2024 was a year of progress as the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) collaborated with municipalities, landowners and partners to facilitate sustainable development while protecting and enhancing our watershed’s critical natural features.
The RVCA’s 2024 Annual Report highlights the expansion of our ALUS clean water program to include all farmers in the Mississippi and Rideau Valley watersheds; new age groups and programs at our Forest Schools; the redevelopment of our website to provide accessible, user-friendly information for residents and stakeholders; and the implementation of Ontario Regulation 41/24 which standardized development regulations across conservation authorities.
Throughout 2024, RVCA staff:
- Welcomed 343,000 visitors to our 11 public conservation areas
- Taught 9,963 kids about nature at Baxter and Foley Mountain conservation areas
- Planted 215,350 trees across the watershed
- Distributed 1,141 free Butternut seedlings to replace dying ones in Eastern Ontario
- Naturalized 2,784 metres of shoreline with 10,856 native trees and shrubs
- Completed 247 clean water projects, including livestock fencing, manure storage, nutrient management, erosion control and wetland construction
- Surveyed 309 stream sections and 63 headwater drainage features
- Sampled 45 sites for benthic invertebrates and 32 sites for fish species
- Monitored 119 river sites and 39 lakes for 51 different water quality parameters
- Issued 10 flood forecasting messages to agencies, municipalities and residents
- Processed 338 Section 28 applications and reviewed 1,031 planning files
- Processed 930 septic applications and re-inspected 865 septic systems.
“These efforts leave our residents safer, our natural systems healthier and our watershed more resilient,” said RVCA General Manager Sommer Casgrain-Robertson. “A big thank you to RVCA staff, our member municipalities and our many partners as we work together to build a stronger, safer Rideau Valley watershed for communities today and in the future.”
Read the full report online or request a hard copy by calling 613-692-3571 or visiting our head office at 3889 Rideau Valley Dr. N in Manotick, Monday to Friday between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Learn more about the RVCA and its mandate at www.rvca.ca.
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MEDIA INQUIRIES
Emma Jackson
Communications Specialist, RVCA
613-692-3571 ext 1184
