Water series: A day with SNC, part two

Under the provincial Conservation Authorities Act, established in 2006, all 36 conservation authorities across Ontario have been provided with the legal means to oversee activities related to development, interference with wetlands, and alterations to shorelines and watercourses in their respective jurisdictions.

One of the mandates of South Nation Conservation (SNC), whose territory extends roughly from Brockville to Plantagenet to St-Bernardin, is to oversee regulated activities within protected areas - lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, slopes, and shorelines - and issue permits for exemptions and allowances.

Such activities include any interference with the existing channel of a watercourse, any development that may affect the conservation of land, the construction of a building or home, site grading, and the placing or removal of earth, topsoil, and other material.

The purpose of such regulations is to protect the land against flooding, erosion and unstable slopes, according to the SNC.

"Any development project has to pass through the SNC for review, under the Planning Act," explained regulations officer Geoff Owens, adding SNC can make recommendations to municipalities regarding building or development projects, regarding setbacks, heritage areas, and significant woodlots.

Furthermore, no development that "could interfere with the hydrologic function of a wetland" is permitted within 120 metres of a provincially-significant wetland and 30 metres of all other wetlands.

11:10 a.m.: Leitrim Wetland and Findlay Creek Village, Greely

Standing on Findlay Creek Drive in Greely, close to the intersection of Bank Street and only 15 kilometres from downtown Ottawa, there is a sight of contrast to behold.

On one side of the road lies the Leitrim Wetland, a protected, provincially-significant wetland that contains many different species of plants and some of the oldest trees in Ottawa - some are estimated at more than 200 years old.

Across the road is the Findlay Creek Village, a brand new suburban home community featuring playgrounds and two schools is already home to many new Ottawa-area families - "the family-friendly choice for Ottawa new homebuyers," as the developer's website states.

According to an informational sign, wetlands like Leitrim serve as a home for plants and animals and filter large amounts of water, thereby improving its quality while reducing soil erosion and downstream flooding.

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) declared Leitrim Wetland as provincially significant in November 1989. In 1991, the boundary of the wetland and the limit of development were established; today, this is Findlay Creek Drive.

Standing there on Wednesday, September 22 during the a watershed tour, SNC director of conservations program Josée Brizard explains that 2,000 to 2,500 homes will eventually be built in the development area. That zoning was grandfathered by the MNR, prior to the discovery of the wetland, meaning the development could not be restricted on the north end.

However, the wetland on the south boundary remains protected and SNC, along with the MNR, Environment Canada and the developers, currently make up the Leitrim Wetland Management Committee, which meets annually to provide sustainable management of the wetland and protect the ecosystem.

It is a unique situation that took a lot of effort to achieve, Brizard noted, adding the developers have donated an additional 100 acres to the wetland. Once the subdivision is finished, "the builders' intention is to donate the sales pavilion, and we hope to use it as an education centre," she continued.

For every home sold, the developers donate $200 to SNC, funds which may eventually pay for a boardwalk to be built through the wetland. An SNC community coordinator also works together with local residents and children to promote events related to better management of the wetland.

1:30 p.m.: Clean Water Program, Hammond

At Hammondale Farm, where Rémi Wolfe and his son Stéphane own and operate a dairy operation in Hammond, there was once a large volume of milk house wastewater entering the property's ditch, as there was no place to contain the runoff.

Runoff from the manure, which was being stored in a pile, was also a concern to the watershed.

"Farms with no manure storage would just discharge the wastewater to the local ditch," said Ronda Boutz, the water quality coordinator for SNC, who said a main concern is that "milk has a high phosphorous content, along with the leachate from the silo."

In 2007, the Wolfe family invested about $125,000 to construct a covered concrete manure storage for the farm, with sufficient capacity for 240 days storage as well as the wastewater from the milking parlour.

"Before, when it rained, we had problems taking the manure out," Stéphane Wolfe explained. "Now it's all on cement, all of our cows' water is pumped directly to the silo, and the manure is kept in the storage, catching [the runoff] in a septic system."

He estimated about 2,300 gallons of wastewater are captured in the system each week, which is later used as a fertilizer in dry conditions. "All the water we catch back, we save on fertilizer. And what we're pumping is mostly wash from the dairy barn, between 150 and 200 gallons a day."

The storage cover keeps the volume of liquid lower, while the drained solid is spread manually, said Boutz. "There's no cost of a contractor, no agitation, and less work pre-spread."

At the time of application, Hammondale Farm received a $7,500 total grant from SNC toward the project, with $5,000 for the manure storage and $2,500 for the milk house wastewater treatment.

This year, SNC's Clean Water Program is offering $10,000 for manure storage and $5,000 for the milk house wastewater treatment, up to a maximum of 50 per cent of the total cost. (The total cost is always greater than the grant maximum, however.)

SNC does not regulate the program itself and the grant process is confidential, Boutz emphasized: "Our role is to come in when applicants ask for funding. We visit about 10 per cent of project sites every year, but through invoices we know they are put in place. We also ask that you keep it in place for five years, and then we go back to collect feedback.

"We don't do any monitoring, as it is too cost prohibitive, but we just try to facilitate the process to get the clean water funding."

For more information or to apply, call 1-877-984-2948 ext. 238.

2:50 p.m.: Waterfront park, Casselman

Casselman is the only municipality in the region that uses the South Nation River for its drinking water supply. The others have the Ottawa River as their source, either directly or via pipelines.

"This system has been in place for about 40 years," explained The Nation Mayor Denis Pommainville, noting at the time, the method was to place an intake at the closest possible source. "However, it costs six times more to treat the water here than that of the Ottawa River. Eventually, there will be a loop to complete [in the pipeline] that will include Casselman."

SNC is currently involved with Raisin Region Conservation Authority as the two groups await the public's input on a drinking water source protection study (see related story). The aim is to analyze and discover potential threats to the drinking water supply, as well as the amount of time it would take to shut off the drinking water intake, in case of an emergency threat.

Boutz said now that the study is complete, the next step is to discuss how to address potential significant threats, and help secure funding for landowners that choose to make changes to their properties, in an effort to reduce these threats.

As a side project, she said SNC will also study the coordination of wastewater discharges in the South Nation River watershed. "Via the upstream lagoons, is there any impact on the Casselman drinking water intake?" she asked. "We're not sure, so we're looking into whether we see a measurable impact from those discharging lagoons."

Pommainville added that Russell, The Nation and Casselman have discussed the possibility of implementing a shared mechanical water treatment facility, but that a population of 20,000 people or greater is necessary to justify this, compared to the already-existing lagoons.

Finally, in an effort to address spills - whether from transport, agriculture, or fuel stations - the counties have obtained a few spill response trailers, equipped with absorbing materials and plugs.

Locally, both Casselman and Alfred-Plantagenet both have such trailers, and there is another one along the Highway 417 and railroad corridor.