Just in time for cottage season, the Mississippi-Rideau Source Protection Region (MRSPR) has released a series of short educational videos about keeping your drinking water safe when drawing directly from a lake or river. 

Drinking surface water is not uncommon on waterfront properties, but comes with unique risks, including increased potential for harmful algal blooms, pathogens and chemical contaminants to impact drinking water safety.

The MRSPR’s new four-part video series addresses these issues, discussing the pros and cons of available at-home water treatment options and even taking viewers on a tour of an Otter Lake resident’s water treatment setup.

“Drinking water safety is paramount for lake residents, but it can be difficult to find reliable information to ensure you’re taking the right actions to keep your family safe,” said Mississippi-Rideau Source Protection Program Manager Marika Livingston. “We hope these videos can shed some light on the risks and offer easy solutions to help residents manage them.”

A recent study of private drinking water supplies on seven major lakes in the Upper and Middle Rideau Valley watershed found that approximately 1,000 residential properties draw water directly from their lake. About one third of these properties reported they are drinking that surface water.  
The study recommended more public education for users of private surface water and groundwater systems, with a focus on the rising issue of harmful algae blooms on lakes and how to choose an appropriate private water treatment system for your property to ensure safe drinking water. This may include a combination of filters, chemical disinfectants, UV light disinfection, water softening or reverse osmosis. Each system comes with its own benefits and limitations, including the little-known fact that UV light disinfection is not effective for removing the toxic bacteria present during a harmful algal bloom (sometimes called a blue-green algae bloom). 

The video series can be found  on Youtube

More information about drinking water protection in general – including how residents can help keep contaminants out of their drinking water sources – can be found at www.mrsourcewater.ca.

More to explore: 

The MRSPR, in partnership with local conservation authorities and neighbouring source protection regions, helps produce the Drinking Water Wise webinar series focused on informing residents about drinking water issues. Find recordings of past webinars and sign up on the mailing list to hear about upcoming dates here: https://www.quinteconservation.ca/en/watershed-management/drinking-water-wise-webinars.aspx.

If you’re fascinated by the natural world, love spending time outside or simply want an excuse to splash around in your local creek, now’s your chance. 

The RVCA’s City Stream Watch program will host a volunteer orientation day on May 25 for anyone interested in helping with its stream assessments, which carefully survey the full length of four Ottawa creeks each summer. This year’s candidates are Graham Creek near Bayshore Mall, Brassils Creek near Burritts Rapids, McEwan Creek in Greenboro and Greens Creek in Beacon Hill.

Survey volunteers can sign up for their preferred shifts on weekday mornings, afternoons or evenings, as well as Saturdays, with survey work beginning in June. Volunteers will help staff sample water chemistry for the presence of metals, nutrients and contaminants, and also record water temperature. 

They’ll also help survey the stream's morphology, habitat and shoreline conditions, and note the presence of any native or invasive species.

“Urban creeks are especially vulnerable to pollution and invasive species thanks to their proximity to roads and developments, which can send a lot of contaminated runoff into our water,” said RVCA’s Acting City Stream Watch co-ordinator Eric Guitard. “By surveying these streams we can track the impacts and direct our resources toward areas that need some attention.”

This could include targeted invasive species removals, shoreline restoration or even recommendations for better stormwater management on nearby public properties.

Volunteers are the backbone of the program, which is administered by Ottawa’s three conservation authorities in the Rideau Valley, Mississippi Valley and South Nation watersheds with support from several community and non-profit organizations.

No experience is necessary, as the RVCA will host a volunteer orientation training day between 10 a.m. and 12 noon on Saturday, May 25 at the mouth of Sawmill Creek off of Riverside Drive for interested recruits. Training will also be provided on the job. 

“It’s an incredible way to get involved,” said Guitard. “You make a meaningful difference to your local environment while spending the day learning outdoors. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

Volunteers are also needed for regular public clean-ups and invasive species removals, which usually take place on Saturday mornings across the city between now and October. 

To join the volunteer mailing list or register for the orientation day, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..