’50 in 50′ Series: Provincial Water Quality Monitoring Network – Monitoring Local Waterways (1970s)

Lower Trent Conservation is celebrating its 50th anniversary! To commemorate this milestone occasion, we have released our ’50 in 50′ historical blog series. 

This special series features 50 articles highlighting some of the achievements, milestones and events of the past 50 years. We hope you enjoy them!

Ontario is rich in water resources. Our province borders four of the five Great Lakes, and we have more than a quarter of a million lakes, rivers, and streams. These water resources are the cornerstone of the quality of life that we enjoy in Ontario. Our health, the health of the environment, and our economic prosperity depend on them. They supply our drinking water and are home to many plant and animal communities. They also play a vital role in industry, agriculture, and recreation.

Monitoring our streams and rivers is crucial in order to assess the impact of human activities on surface water quality. Initiated in 1964, the Ontario government established the Provincial Water Quality Monitoring Network to measure water quality in rivers and streams across the Province. Today, there are over 400 locations monitored in partnership with Ontario’s Conservation Authorities, participating municipalities, and provincial parks.

Monitoring surface water in the Lower Trent Watershed

Within the Lower Trent watershed region, historic water quality records for several watercourses date back to 1964 (see Table 2 below). Most likely, this early water monitoring was conducted out of growing concern about the state of local waterways through the 1950s and 60s. Following its formation in 1968, Lower Trent Conservation joined the provincial monitoring network in the early 1970s.

Water samples are collected on a monthly basis from March through October. The samples are sent to the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change laboratory where they are analyzed for general chemistry.

Water temperature monitoring equipment and sample collection bottles

Unfortunately, Lower Trent Conservation was forced to drop the monitoring program in 1999 following a dramatic cut in funding from the provincial government, but was able to rejoin the program in 2002.  Many sampling locations have changed over the years and have primarily focussed on the Trent River (see Tables 1 and 2 below). Over the past decade or so, Lower Trent Conservation has collected water samples at nine locations including the Trent River (3), Cold Creek (2), Mayhew Creek (1), Trout Creek (1), Salt Creek (1), and Percy/Burnley/Mill Creek (1).

Starting in 2018, a new surge of funds and energy will be directed at the monitoring program. Nine new sampling sites for Colborne Creek, Butler Creek, Barnum House Creek, Shelter Valley Creek, Squires Creek, Rawdon Creek, Meyer’s Creek, Burnley (Mill) Creek, and Rice Lake tributaries will be added to allow for a more comprehensive monitoring of watercourses across the entire watershed. As well, testing for E-coli will be carried out in addition to general chemistry for all 18 locations. The additional data will allow the Conservation Authority to provide a full report on surface water quality for the next Watershed Report Card (http://www.ltc.on.ca/watershed/wrc/) which is produced every 5 years to outline the state of surface water quality, along with forest and wetland resources.

Table 1: Active Monitoring Sites

Station No.	Name	Location	First Year	Total Years of Data Collection
17002105702	Trent River	Healy Falls Dam	1971	47
17002106802	Trent River	Dixon Dr. Trenton	1972	46
17002111802	Trent River	Bridge at Glen Ross Rd.	1980	37
17002104602	Cold Creek	CR 33, South Trent Street, Frankford	1971	47
17002107102	Salt Creek	CR 30, S of CR 29	1972	43
17002113302	Cold Creek	CR 30, Orland	2002	16
17002112802	Mayhew Creek	Front Street, Trenton	2002	16
17002115602	Trout Creek	Simpson Street, Campbellford	2011	7
17002115702	Percy Creek	Skinkle Road, Trent Hills	2016	2

 

Table 2: Inactive Monitoring Sites

Station No.	Name	Location	First Year	Last Year	Total Years of Data Collection
06014100102	Grafton Creek	Lakeshore Rd., S of Grafton	1964	1971	8
06014600102	Colborne Creek	Lakeport Rd (CR 31), SW of Colborne	1964	1998	35
06014800102	Salem Creek	Blyth Park Rd, S of CR 2, SE of Colborne	1964	1983	20
06015100102	Proctors Creek	Harbour St, E of Cedar St, S of Brighton	1964	1998	35
06015200102	Smithfield Creek	CR 64, E of Lawson Rd, SE of Brighton	1964	1990	27
17002100102	Trent River	Dundas St, Reg Rd 2, Trenton	1964	1992	29
17002100202	Trent River	At Dam, Campbellford	1964	1998	35
17002100402	Trent River	Docks near Wellington St & Front St, Peterborough	1965	1998	34
17002100502	Trent River	Dents Cottage Dock, 137m E of Bridge St, Hastings	1965	1993	29
06014200102	Shelter Valley Brook	Bridge on Orchard Grove Rd, SE of Grafton	1971	1998	28
17002104502	Trent River	Hwy 401 bridge, E of CR 33, N of Trenton	1971	1998	28
17002104702	Rawdon Creek	Hastings CR 33, S of Stirling	1971	1998	28
06014200202	Shelter Valley Brook	Shelter Valley Rd, N of Hwy 401 (AG-7)	1975	1977	3
17002112902	Mayhew Creek	Fraser Rd, Murray Twp, W of Trenton	2002	2010	9
17002113102	Mill Creek	Northumberland CR 29, Warkworth	2002	2010	9
17002113202	Mill Creek	Banta Rd, Warkworth	2002	2010	9