The Review's new series on Water: A day with SNC, part 1

The sky was a dark, charcoal-like shade of grey when I woke up at 6:30 a.m. last Wednesday, September 22, a rather unpleasant sight as I prepared myself for the day, which I would spend learning about the (rather fitting) subject of water.

I would be joining representatives of the South Nation Conservation (SNC) environmental organization along with several local residents and members of other regional authorities, as our group explored the western end of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell on a watershed fall tour.

Though as luck would have it, the rain did not last very long; despite a few clouds, the trip would end up being marked by splashes of sunshine and a wealth of information.

8:20 a.m.: Controlled tile drainage, St-Albert

The South Nation River watershed, a 4,000-square-kilometre stretch of eastern Ontario drained by the South Nation River system, is bordered by Brockville to the south, Ottawa to the west, Maxville to the east and meets the Ottawa River near Plantagenet at its northern boundary.

The watershed has been selected as one of seven across Canada for a study known as WEBs: Watershed Evaluation of Beneficial Management Practices, led by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and coordinated locally by SNC. The purpose of the study is to decrease inputs of nutrients and bacteria into the river; in this case, by restricting access of cattle to stream and by using controlled tile drainage.

Controlled tile drainage has been shown to increase water, nutrient and sediment retention on farmers' fields during the times they are most needed, such as summer. According to SNC, water retention can be achieved without flooding by manually positioning an adjustable sluice gate and a tile drain control structure near the cropped field.

"What we are seeing is that we can reduce the phosphorus levels by 50 to 99 per cent and the total nitrogen by 75 to 99 per cent," said David Lapen, an environmental quality scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. "The general premise is to keep water and nutrients in the field for crop use. We want to recycle.

"Over the entire South Nation basin, we can reduce total nitrogen output into the Ottawa River by 30 per cent. That's a significant amount of reduction and, given climate change, I think it will be of interest to farmers for obvious reasons."

One such advantage is the increase in crop yields that controlled drainage can bring. With uncontrolled drainage, it occurs directly from the tile to the water body (a ditch or municipal drain), whereas controlled drainage would see flow control structures installed on the tile headers. The structures are opened in the spring to allow free drainage, field operations and improved soil aeration, and are closed to restrict drainage and store nutrient-rich water that crops will access during the growing season.

Testing of such systems have been in place since 2004, said Lapen, who noted, "We've seen some of the better yields during wet seasons. You wouldn't think so but it's all about timing."

The structures are built by AgriDrain, an Iowa-based company that he said are the "premier control structures in North America," and they can be installed in the ground with the help of a backhoe.

"There are cost-share programs with the provincial and federal governments and the Clean Water Program that would help farmers pay for these."

Projects within the South Nation jurisdiction can be eligible for a grant, through the SNC Clean Water Program, that covers 50 per cent of the system's cost, up to a maximum of $1,000. Call 1-877-984-2948 ext. 238 for more information or to apply.

9:10 a.m.: Conservation area, Russell

The next stop was the J. Henry Tweed Conservation Area in Russell, a six-acre wooded area donated to SNC in 1980. It was transferred to the Township of Russell in 1996 but later, in 2008, returned to the management of SNC, and the Village of Russell now donates $5,000 each year toward the park's maintenance.

Josée Brizard, director of conservation programs with SNC, said the park has some sections that are old wood and have never been cut.

"This is a jewel because it's surrounded by homes," she said, adding residents help monitor the site as "watchdogs" to ensure it stays clean.

One visitor on the tour praised the conservation area as a "giant Brita filter" for the watershed. The longer the water can sit, he said, the better it is for nutrient retention and the purification of the water.

"Once the water goes through this, it's clean, clean, clean."

10:20 a.m.: Andy Shields Park, Greely

At only 20 kilometres from Ottawa, the Village of Greely has grown rapidly over the last decade with the addition of several new subdivisions and its inclusion in the City of Ottawa, prompting conservation authorities to list its coolwater stream, Shields Creek, as a high priority for restoration and protection.

"The development really does have an impact on the creek and the watershed," explained SNC senior fish and wildlife technician, Naomi Langlois-Anderson, noting one of the first things they asked the city was to leave natural growth along the shore of the creek in Andy Shields Park.

The rehabilitation project began 10 years ago, focusing on Shields Creek because it is one of the few coolwater streams in eastern Ontario, stocked with a significant brown trout population. The goal was to replant the shoreline, protecting it from erosion and providing additional shade, which would in turn protect the fish habitat and lower the temperature of the stream - which earlier, "did not reflect the temperature of a cold water stream," noted Langlois-Anderson.

Last year, SNC staff and a local contractor embarked on a project to increase plantings along the shore and wild rice planting in the stream, as well as increasing the width of the shoreline buffer by contracting the removal of gravel and fill in the park. Working with the City of Ottawa, such projects helped to stem sediment runoffs into the stream, something the fish and wildlife technician said is especially important "in an urban setting."

This week's instalment is the first part of The Review's brand new multi-part series on water. Over the next few weeks, a number of issues concerning this valuable and limited natural resource will be covered in this newspaper's pages, including ongoing conservation efforts and the people leading them, improvements to the local watershed and the dangers that continue to threaten it, the protection of our shorelines and why it matters to you, details of a recently-released study on potential threats to your drinking water, new wastewater projects in your region, and the general consumption of water in our everyday life.