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Creek levels and flows are already elevated due to recent snow melt runoff and rainfall events; the ground remains frozen. The forecasted temperatures and rainfall are expected to cause further water level and flow increases.

Water Managers, who operate dams on inland lakes in the region, are passing high flows through water control structures to keep water levels within targets for this time of year. These flows are being managed to mitigate, as much as possible, the impacts from the expected melt and rainfall. As a result, water levels on inland lakes and streams may rise for several days.

Cataraqui Conservation is urging caution around all dams (inflow and outflow channels) and fast flowing watercourses. Respect the hazards in these areas by obeying all warning signs, keeping away from booms, buoys, and barriers. Stay well back from the water’s edge above and below dams and hydroelectric stations. Creek banks and lake shorelines may be slippery, increasing the chance of falling in.  

Also, due to the high flows, ice formation on lakes can be very unsafe. Cataraqui Conservation does not measure ice thickness for advising the public about ice conditions for recreational activities. Ice conditions can vary considerably from one waterbody to the next and within a single waterbody.

Widespread flooding is NOT expected at this time. However, localized inundation of low-lying areas is likely. If you witness flooding and/or require assistance your first point of contact is the local municipality.

Staff will continue to monitor conditions and forecasts and will update statements as needed. This Watershed Conditions Statement will remain in effect until (or updated before) Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 11:59 PM.

For up to date flooding information, please visit our flood forecasting and information page at www.crca.ca/flood

As part of our flood forecasting and warning program staff are collecting information to help track flood events. If you experiencing flooding impacts on your property or business please fill in a brief questionnaire at the following link: https://crca.ca/watershed-management/watershed-information/flood/.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

After flirting with the idea of constructing a new Frontenac County Administrative building, Frontenac County Council is being asked to look once again at renovating its current building.

A little over a year ago, after considering its long-term office space needs for over two years, Frontenac County was approached by the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority about a shared accommodation solution. The idea of a brand new building was raised, and late last spring the idea gained more traction when South Frontenac Township expressed interest in a three-way partnership.

This led the county’s Administrative Building Design Task Force to look at the feasibility and cost estimates surrounding a new building for the three partners, located somewhere in South Frontenac, perhaps in Sydenham in order to save on water costs.

This process carried on through the fall of 2018, into the beginning of the new term of municipal council.

At a meeting in April, South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal informed both the county and the conservation authority that South Frontenac Council had rejected the idea of a new building at their own meeting in early April.

In response, the task force decided to look again at using either the current Cataraqui Conservation Authority near Hwy. 401 or the current Frontenac County/Fairmount home site in Glenburnie for a joint office space.

“The lowest cost option would be to use the existing county site as all infrastructure and servicing is already in place,” said a report to Council prepared by Clerk Janette Amini and Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender.

Accordingly, the report recommends spending $10,000, to be taken from a provincial grant earmarked for modernisation, to look at renovating the existing county offices for use by the two entities.

If approved this week, the money will go towards, architectural analysis of the current county building, preliminary plans to meet partner needs, options for potential configuration of common areas, implications for parking, water & similar services; and initial budget-level estimates for comparison with a stand-alone option.

Strategic Plan to be presented

At that same meeting, Council will consider a draft strategic plan that was developed in association with 80/20 Consulting.

The previous plan, prepared in 2014, has become known for identifying four “wildly important goals” for Frontenac County. This new plan, by contrast, talks about three strategic priorities for this term of council.

Although the plan was prepared before the provincial government’s recent budget, which is already having an impact on municipal budgets, it is written with a sense of caution and a focus on maintaining programs and services that are already in place.

Here are the strategic priorities: 1 - Get behind plans that build community resilience and vitality in times of growth and change, 2 - Explore new funding sources and invest in critical long-term infrastructure using sound judgement, and 3 - Champion and coordinate collaborative efforts with partners to resolve complex problems otherwise beyond the reach of individual mandates and jurisdictions.

Within these priorities is everything from enhancing broadband coverage, securing the future of Fairmount Home, promoting economic development and improving planning processes across the county.

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY

It’s a busy week for technicians working for Conservation Authorities (CA) in Eastern Ontario.

Of the 37 such entities in Ontario, 4 are located in this corner of Eastern Ontario; Mississippi and Rideau Valley Conservation, in the Ottawa River watershed, and Quinte and Cataraqui, in the Lake Ontario watershed.

They have put out notices this week about spring flooding and its impact on some of the lakes within their systems.

They also all received notification that the portion of their funding that the Province of Ontario provides for natural hazard management is being cut this year.

In the case of the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) for example, the allocation is dropping from $242,000 last year, to $125,000 this year.

The $242,000 annual payment, which had remained the same since 1996, was the Province’s contribution towards the RVCA’s efforts to mitigate against flood erosion, maintain infrastructure such as the Bolingbroke dam, and monitor stream flows, maintain a flood watch and generate flood warning messages, and produce mapping of flood plains.

“These are core functions,” said Sommer Casgrain-Robertson, General Manager of RVCA, “which the Province has always supported. “The $242,000 was about 2% of our annual budget, and it is now about 1%. The municipalities within the watershed provide about 50% of our funding, and the rest comes from user fees, application fees and fundraising. The Province, through the Ministry of the Environment, also contributes funding towards source water protection for drinking water.”

Flood water protection and monitoring had been a direct service of the Ministry of Natural Resources before it was downloaded to the Conservation Authorities in the 1990’s and at first the Province provided a significant share of the funding, but with inflation and other cost increases over 23 years, that share had diminished over that time to 2% until it was cut in half last week.

“We are not going to change our flood mitigation and monitoring operations, said Casgrain. “Over the next few months our board will decided how to handle the financial implications.”

We know the Province was up against a significant financial hurdle, and we knew the budget would contain cuts, we were waiting to see if our funding would be cut, but since our funding is so limited it was not a cut we were expecting. And when you consider that with climate change, we are definitely seeing an increase in extreme weather events, this is coming at a time when we probably should be looking at doing more in this area.”

The RVCA board is made up of appointees from member municipalities. One of the options they could consider would be to make up the shortfall by increasing the contribution from member municipalities towards natural hazards, which would lead to decreases in other municipal services or increases in municipal taxes.

The Mississippi Valley Conservations Authority (MVCA) is seeing a provincial funding cut from $248,000 to $128,000.

In a written statement, MVCA staff talked about the scope of the program that is supported by provincial funding.

“Through our watershed planning, programs and services, we put as much effort into preventing flooding as we do into responding when weather conditions overwhelm the system. Examples, particularly at this time of year, include: monitoring water levels and weather forecasts, operating water control structures, providing advanced notice of flooding to area municipalities and residents, and coordinating with emergency responders. We operate five Ministry of Natural Resources & Forestry, 11 smaller MVCA dams, and 2 facilities on behalf of Ontario Power Generation. Our on the ground presence throughout the watershed and daily monitoring of water flows, levels and weather conditions, allows us to understand and predict how water is coming off the land.”

They also said that they are not contemplating making any changes to their core operations in the short term in response to the sudden cut in provincial funding.

“We will look internally and at existing programs and reserves to compensate while continuing to work on the ground, maintaining the same level of service that member municipalities and other partners have come to rely on,” said Sally McIntyre, General Manager.

On a province-wide basis, the funding envelope for Conservation Authority natural hazard funding has been decreased from $7.4 million to $3.7 million.

The Ministry of Natural Resources, under Minister John Yakabuski, who represents the riding of Renfrew, is also undertaking a review of the Conservation Authorities Act, with a view towards improving “public transparency and consistency” according to a government news release.

The release quotes Minister Yakabuski: "Our government is putting people first to help communities and families prepare and respond to climate change," said John Yakabuski, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry. "Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our regulations is a critical component of our government's strategy for strengthening Ontario's resiliency to extreme weather events."

Published in General Interest

Even though there are still a couple of outstanding issues with the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority, manager of development services Forbes Symon recommended South Frontenac Council approve a condominium agreement for Cranberry Cove Condominium in Storrington District at its regular meeting meeting Tuesday night in Sydenham.

Symon said that because of flood watch conditions, the CRCA hadn’t had the manpower to devote to reviewing the agreement but he was confident all its conditions were being met and the Township could remove its conditions and send it on to County. (Frontenac County is the final approval authority on condominiums.)

“The developer has been working with the Health Unit, the CRCA and the Township to satisfy the conditions of draft approval,” he said. “It now appears that the conditions have been satisfied.

“It’s not as complete with a big red bow around it as we would like but it is to a point where we can recommend entering into the agreement with the understanding that there is still an ‘i’ and a ‘t’ to be dealt with.”

Holiday Manor
Council approved an encroachment agreement for Holiday Manor in Battersea to operate an outdoor licenced patio that encroaches on a municipal road allowance.

“From a roads perspective, the encroachment is not a significant matter,” said Forbes Symon, manager of development services.

1 more month for Percy
Council extended the lease agreement with Percy Snider on Stage Coach Road for an additional month to allow Snider to complete a move to his new facility.

“I would like to see it happen so we could celebrate Canada Day with it cleaned up but he is working on it,” said Mayor Ron Vandewal.

EORN
Council passed a motion to support the Eastern Ontario Regional Network’s submission of a business case to support improvement and expansion of cellular networks and mobile broadband services across Eastern Ontario. “The County has already supported this and will probably make some financial commitment to it,” said Mayor Ron Vandewal. “They’re just asking member municipalities to support it too, to strengthen the case.”

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

The Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority welcomed the public to its Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area facility last Sunday to present its first ever Lake Assessment Report and perhaps generate some interest in people getting involved.

There are 170 named lakes in the CRCA’s jurisdiction of which they now have report sheets on 45. The reports as well as the overview are available on CRCA website and include such information as physical features, bathymetry, phosphorus levels, calcium levels, pH levels, oxygen levels, fisheries data, species at risk, invasive species, visibility and where the lake sits on the oligotrophic-mesotrophic-eutrophic (ie water quality) scale. (Just Google CRCA lake reports.)

“Reported lakes within the Cataraqui region are generally healthy with suitable conditions to support aquatic Communities, resist changes in pH, and adapt to external stresses such as changes in shoreline habitat,” the report says. “However, eight lakes within the region have eutrophic conditions and over 40 per cent have been invaded by zebra mussels.”

Eutrophic conditions means that the water body is enriched with nutrients, which induces growth of plants and algae and may result in oxygen depletion. While it can occur naturally, in current times it is often induced by the discharge of phosphate-containing detergents, fertilizers or sewage.

Environmental Technologist Holly Evans said the “seeds of the idea” for the lake reports sprouted from all the calls they were fielding about lakes on a variety of topics.

“Technologists are always getting phone calls,” she said. “Everything from ‘I saw this weird thing on my lake’ to ‘I’m thinking of buying a property on this lake’ to ‘where can I go fishing for this kind of fish.’

“We wanted to put the answers all in one place online.”

For example, the online fact sheet on Loughborough Lake will tell you where it is (including GIS coordinates), where the boat launches are, surface area, volume, maximum depth, average depth and length of shoreline for both the east and west basins. It also features a ‘lake characteristics’ section outlining the various differences between the east and west basins as well as dams and nearby lakes.

But there’s also another reason for inviting the public and getting the word out about lake reports. They’d like some help both for lakes yet to have lake reports as well as ongoing data collection.

With the growing trend towards ‘citizen science,’ the CRCA would like to recruit some ‘partners’ to assist in various forms of data collection.

“The CRCA values the lakes in our region and we’d like to give you more information about them,” Evans said. “But we need the information (and) the best way to gather information is to engage people and build partnerships.

“We’re reaching out.”

They’re interested in just about any aspect of a lake, from temperature readings to observing wildlife. They have kits they will share as well as information on how to use them and gather information.

They’re also interested in any sort of information families may have collected over the years.

“If you live on a lake, chances are you’ve recorded when the ice went in and when it went out every year,” she said. “We want to move that information from the binder and get it online.”

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

The Cataraqui Region is blessed with an abundance of remarkably unique lakes. Increasingly, the health and long term viability of these important sources of natural habitat, recreation and drinking water is a topic of great importance to those who live near and enjoy these bodies of water.

With this in mind, the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority (CRCA) has organized a Lake Information Event. It takes place on Sunday, May 28, in the Outdoor Centre at the Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area, from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m., admission is free.

Led by CRCA staff, this all-ages event will also be the official launch of the CRCA’s first ever Regional Lake Assessment Report and Lake Fact Sheets. The Lake Assessment Report was created to outline the importance, methods, and results of lake monitoring in the Cataraqui Region. As part of this work Lake Fact Sheets were produced for 45 lakes within the region to provide maps, note physical features, assess water quality, identify invasive species and outline aquatic diversity.

This interactive and informative session will give participants a chance to learn all about lakes including monitoring activities and how we determine the health of the lakes in our jurisdiction.

Check out displays and information from organizations including Watersheds Canada, Lake Partner Program, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters Invading Species Watch Program and others. Try out lake monitoring equipment, learn about the state of Cataraqui Region lakes and your local watershed, discover the strange and wonderful zooplankton universe, learn to identify invasive species, find out how you can get involved to help collect important scientific information, participate in educational games and much more.

The Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area is located on Division Street just two kilometres north of Highway 401..

For more information about the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority, visit www.crca.ca or call (613) 546-4228 x 500 or toll free in the 613 region at 1-877-956-CRCA (2722).

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 03 May 2017 11:10

CRCA issues flood watch for this week

The Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority (CRCA) has issued a flood watch for the inland lakes and streams today.

The CRCA watersheds have received between 50 and 70 mm of rain over the last two days, which is about one month's worth of rain. Streams are rising quickly, and are expected to reach the top of their banks today or tomorrow. Localized flooding is expected.

Inland lakes are rising rapidly, and are expected to reach the levels seen earlier this year. There is the potential for significant rain at the end of the week, which could push levels even higher.

Water mangers are conducting operations to minimize effects.

Stream and river banks are slippery, water currents are strong, and the water itself remains dangerously cold. The CRCA is urging residents to exercise extra caution outdoors around lakes and streams, and to stay off the thinning ice cover and away from the cold, deep, fast flowing watercourses, as well as any dams.  The dangers of drowning and hypothermia are heightened at this time of year because of the unpredictability of water flows, ice thickness and near-freezing temperatures.

This Watershed Conditions Statement will remain in effect until May 5, 2017.

Flood Watch: Flooding is possible in specific watercourse or municipalities. Municipalities, emergency services and individual landowners in flood-prone areas should prepare.

Flood Warning: Flooding is imminent or already occurring in specific watercourses or municipalities. Municipalities and individuals should take action to deal with flood conditions. This may include road closures and evacuations.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

Kingston – The Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority wishes to inform the media and general public that a scientist from the National Microbiology Lab of the Public Health Agency of Canada will be live trapping rodents on two CRCA-owned and managed properties this week.

Winnipeg-based Dr. Robbin Lindsay is collecting small mammals – primarily rodents – in areas around Kingston and a couple of other areas in Eastern Ontario for the purpose of collecting ticks to see if they are carrying the Powassan encephalitis virus as part of an ongoing active surveillance program, in conjunction with local public health units. He will be putting live traps in locations at both the Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area and the Lemoine Point Conservation Area.

The public is being asked to stay on the marked trails and to avoid areas where active trapping is taking place. The trapping program on CRCA properties runs from Wednesday, Sept. 16 through to Saturday, Sept. 19. Animals being studied include mice, voles, shrews, chipmunks etc. For more information, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For more information about the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority, visit www.crca.ca or call (613) 546-4228 x 500 or toll free in the 613 region at 1-877-956-CRCA (2722).  

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY
With the participation of the Government of Canada