We hope you are having a wonderful autumn. This is our fourth issue of 2018 for the Healthy Lake Huron e-newsletter email news update.
This is Volume 2, Issue 4 of the Healthy Lake Huron - Clean Water, Clean Beaches e-Newsletter. This October 2018 edition is the fourth issue of 2018 of the Lake Huron News Update. This is a free, regular e-newsletter with email news updates from the Healthy Lake Huron: Clean Water, Clean Beaches Partnership. Thank you for your interest in the work that has been done, is being done, and needs to be done to protect and improve the southeast shore of Lake Huron.
“Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink.” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
‘Water, water everywhere but …’
This article is written by Patrick Donnelly, a founder, director, and Coastal Science and Stewardship Advisor with the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation
People are funny. They often take for granted the most precious things that lie right under their noses. Take water for example. In Southwestern Ontario we live on a peninsula surrounded by the Great Lakes; the largest assemblage of fresh water in the world. Yet for many, we neither understand them nor realize how critical they are to our day-to-day lives. Take two examples for instance.
Case #1 – Where did the water go?
With these huge reservoirs of fresh water situated so very close to homes and vacation spots, we often find that people assume the water levels are manually controlled somehow. This is especially true of newcomers who have not grown up or ‘cottaged’ on the Lake Huron shores. Federal and provincial governments do not help reduce the confusion when they speak of regulations that ‘control’ Lake Ontario or Lake Superior when in reality, the ‘controls’ are mere centimetres of influence compared to metres of natural water level fluctuation (in vertical distances).
Take Lake Erie, for example. A persistent west wind can blow down the length of the lake from Toledo to Buffalo (or Point Pelee to Fort Erie) and ‘set up’ or ‘push’ lake water from one end to the other making water level changes in the order of metres of vertical change. Granted Lake Erie is the shallowest of our Great Lakes but this same phenomenon, referred to as a ‘seiche,’ can also occur in bays such as in Saginaw or Georgian Bay. If they are keeping a close watch, shoreline landowners may notice daily fluctuations as the water ‘sloshes’ back and forth like a water basin being rocked like a cradle.
In Lake Huron, along the southeast shore, seiches are not common but a different type of water level change can occur during intense storm activity. Take, for example, the F3 tornado in Goderich in 2011. The water level gauge that is situated in the harbour records hourly water level fluctuations. The intense low-pressure system that draws air into the centre of the funnel and makes it rise up in a cataclysmic weather phenomenon also creates such a low-pressure system, it will redistributes water as well. Although the tornado path was so rapid that it is difficult to obtain recordings such as at the water level gauge in Goderich Harbour, many first-hand witness accounts suggest the water was drawn out of the harbour and then rushed back in moments later as the tornado passed over.
This type of occurrence and the damage that resulted to moored boats and ships, is well documented by insurance companies in their claims for damages to ships in the deep water port when storms over the years have caused harbour damage. These insurance companies had to complete their due diligence and double-check the facts of claim only to find out the claims were accurate and as a result of rapid water level changes, all due to ‘Mother Nature.’
Case #2 – Who is drinking Lake Huron?
Although no one recommends drinking water directly from Lake Huron (seagull feces is one of the pollutants that can create issues), many shoreline municipalities receive their treated drinking water from the lake. The Lake Huron Primary Water Supply System facility, near Grand Bend, takes more than 100 Mega Litres of water per day, treats it and sends it to 14 nearby communities including the coastal communities of Bayfield, Port Franks and all areas in between. Additional municipalities who benefit from this pipeline water also include London, Komoka, Strathroy, Hensall, Exeter, and Lucan, among others. Compare this with the total amount of water treated for drinking water for populations on both sides of Lake Huron.
Ontario communities have many more water treatment facilities than their counterparts in Michigan with 23 on the Ontario side and five on the Michigan side. These two jurisdictions withdraw 1,800 Mega Litres per day to quench the thirst of 2.4 million people. Michigan has 80 per cent of the population but consumes 85 per cent of the treated water while Ontario side of the lake has 20 per cent of the population but consumes 15 per cent of the treated water. Our Michigan neighbours appear to be thirstier than our fellow Ontario citizens.
Everything considered, we live next to some very large, very beautiful, and very important water resources that we should never take for granted. The more we learn about ‘our’ Lake Huron, the more we will understand it. The more we understand it, the more we will take care of it.
Welcome to autumn on Lake Huron's southeast shore! We encourage you to visit healthylakehuron.ca over autumn, winter, and next spring and summer! There's lots going on ... and lots left to do. Thanks for helping to keep this Great Lake great.
Government of Canada national climate actions include work along Lake Huron’s southeast shore
Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, announced, on October 11, 2018, $4.3 million in Canadian grants to support 58 new EcoAction Community Funding Program projects across Canada.
The announced funding supports concrete local action to help fight and adapt to climate change and to educate and engage Canadians in preserving and conserving water including the Great Lakes.
Some of the funded projects are taking place along or near the southeast shore of Lake Huron.
Projects along or near Lake Huron's shore, supported by the funding, include:
$86,150 to Pine River Watershed Initiative Network for their work in this priority southeast shore area to Increase Habitat Availability and Water Storage Capacity in the Pine River Watershed
$43,420 to the Bruce Peninsula Biosphere Association for their work Reviving a Productive Cold Water Stream in a Unique Karst Drainage System, Bruce Peninsula
$85,791 to the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority for the Fertile Fields and Clean Streams project
$100,000 to the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation for the Urban and Rural Stormwater Improvements for Lake Huron project
$93,272 to Georgian Bay Forever for the Divert and Capture – The Fight Against Microplastics in our Water project.
The projects are across Canada and are forecasted to protect, stabilize, or improve up to 8,558 hectares of shoreline; reduce or divert 30,020,280 kilograms of toxic or harmful waste; and reduce water consumption by 60,925,140 litres – the equivalent of what 685 Canadians consume in a year.
The projects are also forecasted to reduce greenhouse gas emission by 7,127 tonnes across Canada. This reduction would be the equivalent of removing 1,526 passenger vehicles off the road for one year.
EcoAction projects will support communities across the country in protecting the environment and growing the economy by conserving water resources, adapting to climate change, and reducing pollution.
A news release from the Government of Canada said that clean water and clean air is a priority and that “ … by investing to protect and conserve nature, we are ensuring communities across the country can tackle climate change and grow the economy …”
“We are proud to support community groups that are taking action to preserve water resources and promote energy-efficient practices,” said Catherine McKenna, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
The 58 funded EcoAction projects are expected to reach 119,811 Canadians. Since 1995, EcoAction has approved more than $115 million in funding for 3,150 projects that engage Canadians in direct activities to protect water, soil, and habitat. Since 2006, EcoAction has helped engage more than 2.5 million Canadians in environmental activities. For every dollar received through EcoAction, approximately $1.87 is leveraged from other funding partners.
Protecting water quality, building resilient watershed with innovative projects, best practices to Avoid; Control; Trap and Treat
By Sarah Fleischhauer, Stewardship Project Lead, Maitland Conservation
The Garvey-Glenn Watershed is a 16.85-square-kilometre watershed located in the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh. This watershed is primarily made up of agricultural land, with a mix of homesteads, cottages, and a locally significant wetland.
The Garvey-Glenn Watershed Project began in 2011 and aims to research and demonstrate how to best create a watershed that is resilient to the impacts of climate change. This is being done through researching the social and economic factors in the uptake of agricultural best management practices (BMPs), as well as demonstrating the effectiveness of various BMPs.
To learn more read the article on the Healthy Lake Huron web page:
One unique attribute of the Garvey-Glenn Watershed Project is the use of the ACTT (Avoid, Control, Trap / Treat) approach. This approach is to avoid the issue, control any water quality issues at the sources, and trap and treat it before it enters the watercourse. All projects completed in the Garvey-Glenn follow the ACTT approach in some way.
This year (2018) has been a successful year for the Garvey-Glenn project. In 2018, Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) started off the season by partnering with Lawrence Hogan (a Garvey-Glenn landowner) and the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) to host a Bio-strip Tillage Workshop in April of 2018.
This workshop demonstrated the innovative practice of bio-strip tillage. Bio-strip tillage is a practice where alternating rows of cover crops are planted to mimic strip tillage, also known as ‘biological’ strip tillage. There were many questions from the 40 participants, ranging from the equipment used to the different species’ role within the cover crop mix. A bit of rain didn’t stop attendees from walking the field and seeing how the cover crops had decomposed in time for spring planting.
The MVCA also worked with four landowners in the Garvey-Glenn Watershed this spring to plant two windbreaks and two riparian buffer plantings. More than 1.2 kilometres (km) of windbreaks were installed thanks to landowners in the Garvey-Glenn.
Windbreaks offer year-round benefits to help reduce soil erosion, increase crop yields, and reduce heating costs (when planted around a structure). As well, this year, 1.2 km of riparian buffer was planted, and included a variety of coniferous and deciduous species. Riparian buffers are planted to create a buffer zone between agricultural lands and watercourses. They help to stabilize banks, provide a filter strip to trap sediment moving across the landscape, provide shade to watercourses, and create habitat.
A new, innovative municipal drain was installed in the Garvey-Glenn. The Glenn Municipal Drain – E Drain Extension was installed this past summer.
The MVCA has been working with landowners, the municipality, and staff from R. J. Burnside & Associates Limited to add green infrastructure to a new municipal drain. These structures included nine water and sediment control basins (WASCoBs) and one grassed waterway.
These erosion control structures are an important step in managing water as it moved across a field. These structures will help to take water underground and/or protect the soil surface from concentrated flows. Adding these structures to a municipal drain ensures that these structures will be protected and maintained. This is a great example of a community working together to help reduce soil erosion.
Along with all the great projects that are being completed, the MVCA is working hard to monitor the watershed’s water quality. This is being done through event-based sampling that allows us to look at precipitation, streamflow, sediment, nutrients, and bacteria. Maitland Conservation has also been monitoring the impacts of BMPs at the field scale by developing overland flow and in-tile monitoring stations at the edge of a field. At this location, water samples are taking during seasonal base flow conditions and during large storm events.
We are looking forward to what 2019 has in store for continued work in the Garvey-Glenn Watershed Project, helping to protect and improve water in creeks, rivers, groundwater, and Lake Huron!
The Garvey-Glenn Watershed is one of five priority areas along Lake Huron’s southeast shore. Long-term monitoring of weather and water quality and project implementation and evaluation in these priority areas can help to protect water locally and also guide work in other watersheds of Lake Huron.
Strategies to Reduce Plastic Waste on Saturday, October 27, 2018 at Bayfield Town Hall from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Join Blue Bayfield (Sustainability from Land to Lake), the Bayfield Blue Community, and Becoming Plastic Free Bayfield (Surfers Against Sewage) for Strategies to Reduce Plastic Waste on Saturday, October 27, 2018 at Bayfield Town Hall from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
This event is made possible thanks to generous sponsors and partners including Municipality of Bluewater; The Lake House of Bayfield; Hyundai of Goderich; Cowbell Brewing Co. of Blyth; Bayfield Boutique Bed and Breakfast; Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation; and Windmill Lake Wake & Eco Park.
Visit local public health websites, social media channels in 2018-2019 for info on recreational beach water quality
Warm weather earlier in October meant that some people were swimming in Lake Huron even in autumn. As the weather has cooled, the days for swimming are disappearing until the return of warmer weather in the new year. As you plan your time on Lake Huron in 2019, don’t forget to visit your local public health unit websites and sign up for their social media feeds to find out about safe swimming practices.
Local public health is an important partner in the Healthy Lake Huron – Clean Water, Clean Beaches partnership.
In some cases, local beaches may be posted if health units believe there may be a risk to the public when the levels of E. coli exceed (or are predicted to exceed) the federal guidelines and provincial standard (200 E. coli per 100 mL of beach water) for recreation.
Other factors such as environmental conditions may also cause beaches to be posted. However, even though local public health agencies conduct monitoring and testing on a number of public beaches, swimming and recreational conditions can change quickly. It’s important to know about recent weather events and to follow best practices.
Health units can’t monitor all beaches and they can’t do it all the time or monitor for all pollutants – also, they don’t test other bodies of water such as creeks and streams, rivers, ravines, gullies, and dams. Residents should be aware these areas could be unsafe for swimming.
When beaches are monitored they are usually monitored for Escherichia coli levels only. There may be other harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or pathogens in the water.
Sources of E. coli may include, among other things, animals and waterfowl, malfunctioning sewage disposal systems, and stormwater runoff carrying chemicals and excess nutrients into creeks, rivers, and the lake. The number of E. coli can be influenced by rainfall, turbidity (water clarity), air and water temperature, as well as the features of the coastline.
The return of warm swimming days may be a few months away – but it’s never too early to follow your local public health channels for information on beaches and water quality – and other local public health issues. Here’s how to find out more:
Online:
Here are some of the local public health websites with information on water quality and safe swimming:
Recreational water use is popular in Grey and Bruce counties. These activities can deliver important benefits to health and well-being. Yet, there is the possibility of injury or illness resulting from recreational use if the water is polluted or unsafe. Human illness and infection can be caused by organisms (bacteria, viruses and parasites) that may be present in pools; spas and hot tubs; and natural bodies of water.
Beaches in Grey and Bruce County have a history of being safe. However, water quality can change from day to day or even hour to hour depending on the weather and other conditions. High bacteria levels usually occur due to weather-related events.
The health unit encourages beachgoers to make an informed decision about beach water quality in real time before you go swimming. “You are the best judge of whether the water is safe to swim!”
Grey-Bruce Health Unit provides these four questions to guide beachgoers in their decisions:
QUESTION:
Is the beach posted with a warning sign? ANSWER:
If you answered yes – Do not swim.
QUESTION:
Has there been a heavy rainfall in the last 24 to 48 hours? ANSWER:
If so, bacteria levels may be higher. In that case, Do not swim.
QUESTION:
Can you see your feet at adult-waist depth? ANSWER:
If you can’t see your feet at adult-waist depth, cloudy water can mean that bacterial levels may be higher. In that case, Do not swim.
QUESTION:
Are there any other problems with the beach such as a large number of waterfowl, dead fish, algae and/or scum, or dangerous debris, etc. ANSWER:
If you answered ‘Yes’ to any one of the four examples in the question above - you should not swim. The water may have high levels of bacteria that could increase the risk of skin, eye, ear, nose and throat infections or gastrointestinal illness.
Also – the health unit reminds you to avoid swallowing beach water no matter how clear the water looks!
In Huron County:
The quality of Lake Huron water can change dramatically day to day, hour to hour, or even minute to minute with either heavy rainfall, high wave action, or both. The Huron County Health Unit encourages recreational users of Lake Huron to read the signs to reduce health risks.
The beach water sampling program has ended for the 2018 season. Please visit the website and follow Huron County public health on Twitter @huronbeachinfo during the 2019 season.
There are a number of initiatives underway in Huron County to improve water quality at the beaches and throughout the watershed. One of those projects involves monitoring stormwater outfalls at the Bayfield Main Beach. This project is organized by the Bluewater Beach Committee whose members include Pioneer Park, Municipality of Bluewater, Ausable Bayfield Conservation, and Huron County Health Unit. The most recent water test results can be found on the Bayfield Beach Stormwater Monitoring web page.
During the summer, Lambton County beaches provide tourists and local residents with a relaxing place to swim and play recreational sports. To ensure water is safe for swimming, Lambton Public Health tests and monitors seven public beaches from the beginning of June to the end of August for levels of E. coli bacteria.
There is also information for boaters, beachgoers, and other water enthusiasts here:
In Lake Huron, along the southeast shore, seiches are not common but a different type of water level change can occur during intense storm activity. Take, for example, the F3 tornado in Goderich in 2011. The water level gauge that is situated in the harbour records hourly water level fluctuations. The intense low-pressure system that draws air into the centre of the funnel and makes it rise up in a cataclysmic weather phenomenon also creates such a low-pressure system, it will redistributes water as well. Although the tornado path was so rapid that it is difficult to obtain recordings such as at the water level gauge in Goderich Harbour, many first-hand witness accounts suggest the water was drawn out of the harbour and then rushed back in moments later as the tornado passed over.
Ontario communities have many more water treatment facilities than their counterparts in Michigan with 23 on the Ontario side and five on the Michigan side. These two jurisdictions withdraw 1,800 Mega Litres per day to quench the thirst of 2.4 million people. Michigan has 80 per cent of the population but consumes 85 per cent of the treated water while Ontario side of the lake has 20 per cent of the population but consumes 15 per cent of the treated water. Our Michigan neighbours appear to be thirstier than our fellow Ontario citizens. 
A new, innovative municipal drain was installed in the Garvey-Glenn. The Glenn Municipal Drain – E Drain Extension was installed this past summer.
