The French River Needs Our Help

Water quality problems are increasing worldwide due to the pressures from population growth and development, and our area is no exception.  Increased pollution levels resulting from human activities are causing serious problems in many waterways, from toxic algae blooms to the decimation of local fish populations.  Phosphorous loading is recognized as a key indicator of water quality and is an area that is being addressed by the French River Stewardship Council.   The targets for phosphorous loading established by our research are;

• Less than 10 micrograms per litre (?g/L) indicates natural nutrient levels.
• 10 to 15 ?g/L is nutrient enrichment of concern.
• Over 15 ?g/L is an indication of significant water quality problems.

After reviewing our second year of detailed sampling results, the French River Stewardship Council is raising the level of concern with respect to the deterioration of water quality. The nutrient loading, as measured by phosphorous concentration, has reached unacceptable levels with 5 of our 14 test sites averaging above 15 ?g/L for the 2008 sampling season and only 3 of 75 tests returning levels less than 10 ?g/L.  If left unchecked the results are very clear;

• A decrease in water clarity with an increase in weed growth particularly in sheltered and bay areas.  More and more areas will become weed choked. Invasive species such as milfoil will flourish.

• The shoreline and rocks become covered in slippery sediment and algae.  The sedimentation on rocks will have devastating effects on Pickerel and eventually cause a decline in sport fish.  Pickerel, Pike and Bass will be replaced by Carp, Suckers and Catfish species.

• More serious blue green algae events will occur and eventually last the entire summer season. Once this occurs vacationers will leave and property value will plummet.

These events are already occurring in nearby waters and they are very real. The areas that are of main concern are;

• The operation of the various Lagoon facilities. These are the lagoons the handle the septic waters from our communities.  We are reviewing our findings with the Clean Water Agency who are responsible for lagoon operation. We have concerns with respect to their operating procedures.  In addition, we are requesting a large Provincial Government grant of approximately $130,000 to develop better water cleaning processes at all lagoon sites.
• The issue of sustainable development and human impact. The things that seemed okay 40 years ago no longer are acceptable. We are working with local municipalities to ensure that the problem is understood and that they become part of the solution.  Environmental concerns must be central in the decision making process.
• We are making a major effort to educate the local public with respect to the real problems we now face.  Simple efforts by individuals, such as using phosphate free detergents and maintaining natural shorelines, can have a significant positive impact.

NEWS FOR YOU 

Your Stewardship Council has completed the second year of our sampling project. We expanded the sampling sites from 12 to 14 as the 2007 results showed two areas of the river that needed a more detailed analysis. The 2008 results are expected shortly and will be posted on our website and sent via mail to all members in our year end membership packages.

The 2009 program will add an additional 2 sites from the upper French which will be taken by the folks of the Upper French River Cottagers Association. These additions will mean 16 sampling points for the 2009 season. After year end 2009 we will have sufficient and broad enough data to reduce sample points to a few very targeted areas of the river and to provide a technical report of our findings. Sampling and research work to-date shows that our concerns about nutrient loading, specifically phosphates are warranted.

We are continuing our work towards becoming a not for profit corporation and plan to update our members during our 2009 membership meeting. We plan to hold a public meeting immediately following our members meeting so that we can update the general public on all our activities and future plans. This meeting is currently scheduled for July of 2009.

Your Stewardship Council is pleased to advise we have joined the Ontario Federation of Cottagers Association

FOCA is a large and very active group of about 500 cottage associations and, most importantly to us, also has about 300 water stewardship groups as members

We now have access to this membership to share findings and best practices as we work together to improve the quality of water in the French River watershed

FOCA is well recognized as a professional organization representing the thousands of property owners in Ontario’s vacation areas and has a strong voice at all levels of government.

Please see some information about management of your septic system elsewhere in this edition

As always, we need members!!!  If you have not joined us yet – be heard and stay informed!!

As winter approaches and our water turns to ice, your Stewardship Council is busy preparing for some activities in 2009.

Water testing was completed at 14 locations on the French River in 2008 and samples were taken from early in April to mid October – at least 5 times from most locations, some as many as 9 times.

A more comprehensive testing program was also undertaken for 2 locations in Ranger Bay as we recognized the heavier population density and felt we should try and get more data from this area.

As we receive the results of this program, we expect to have a better understanding of our current water quality levels, can compare this year’s findings with previous data, and begin to see some trends in the changes, specifically in the level of phosphates in the water.

At least one more year of similar testing will be needed to establish solid base line measurements throughout our system.

Over the winter we are busy planning the following:

Tree planting rogram with the local schools for late May or early June 2009.

More comprehensive testing program for the river system for 2009

Education program about the various logos used to identify products used in your home and garden

Proceeding with Incorporation as a charitable organization – targeting to have this in place for the 2009

Plans for the 2009 Public Meeting – will be held in July!!

November 2008

As winter approaches and our water turns to ice, your Stewardship Council is busy preparing for some activities in 2009.

Water testing was completed at 14 locations on the French River in 2008 and samples were taken from early in April to mid October – at least 5 times from most locations, some as many as 9 times.

A more comprehensive testing program was also undertaken for 2 locations in Ranger Bay as we recognized the heavier population density and felt we should try and get more data from this area.

As we receive the results of this program, we expect to have a better understanding of our current water quality levels, can compare this year’s findings with previous data, and begin to see some trends in the changes, specifically in the level of phosphates in the water.

At least one more year of similar testing will be needed to establish solid base line measurements throughout our system.

Over the winter we are busy planning the following:

Tree planting program with the local schools for late May or early June 2009.

More comprehensive testing program for the river system for 2009

Education program about the various logos used to identify products used in your home and garden

Proceeding with Incorporation as a charitable organization – targeting to have this in place for the 2009

Plans for the 2009 Public Meeting – will be held in July!!

Fund raising activities

For continuing information got to

Phosphates and what they mean to you!

This is a simple layman’s explanation of phosphates as they relate to water quality

Phosphates enter the water system in many ways, some natural, and some directly related to human activities.

Shoreline land use and human impact are usually the dominant cause of increasing level of phosphorous in our water

Phosphates are a good thing at the right levels.  When the levels get too high – water quality deteriorates.

The Sturgeon Bay area, just west of Point au Baril, is an example of how things can go wrong, and is a great example of why your stewardship Council is doing their work now ands is concerned that we don’t become another Sturgeon Bay.

For more information about the issues at Sturgeon Bay, go to  www.oursturgeonbay.com

Phosphorous is measured in `parts per billion (ppb).

Generally, a concentration of 5 to 10 ppb is considered healthy for a fresh water environment.

Readings in the 10 to 15 ppb range are a signal for concern

Readings above 15 ppb indicate there are water quality problems

As we get the results of our 2008 testing, we should be able to identify specific areas where we work to improve water quality

In 2009, we plan a more comprehensive education and information program to work with any area where we see phosphate levels that are too high.  This proactive management is the best way to make sure we avoid major problems in the future

The French River Stewardship Council held its Second Annual Public Meeting on August 10.

Council gave its report to the 50+ people and MCTV News, who attended the meeting.

Question & answer periods were provided to address any concerns from the public.

The 2008 projects discussed were:

• Plant a free tree for the environment day with trees donated by Vale Inco.
• The French River Stewardship council’s contest at the French River High school to design a Logo for the French River Stewardship.
• The Phosphate Water sampling program on the French river.
• New spectrum water testing of 12 elements from two sites in Ranger Bay.
• The benthic sampling of the French River and public survey by Ian Wells from the Lake head University.

Discussions around the 2007 sampling results were the main interest.

It was stated that a trend of 3 – 5 years would be required before any firm conclusions could be made. The phosphate sample testing in 2007 indicated an average range of 10 – 15 parts/ billion (20 is considered unacceptable). The need for public awareness and participation was stressed. Now is the time to protect and improve the water quality of the French River. Simple things such as planting trees by the shore, leaving shore weeds intact and using phosphate free products could make a substantial difference.

The stewardship council announced it was applying to be incorporated as a charitable corporation and elections for board of directors will begin next year. This will enable the stewardship to issue tax receipts for membership fees of $25.00. All monies collected go to protecting the French River awareness programs.

Anyone wishing to join our organization or wishing to find out more about the French River Stewardship Council programs can access our web site at WWW.frenchriverwater.ca.

The French River Stewardship Council would like to thank all of its members, volunteers, Vale Inco, Guest speaker Blake Block, from the Sudbury District Health Unit and the general public for their support an encouragement in the protection of the French River Watershed.

News from your French River Stewardship Council

New Logo – we ran a contest to create a distinctive look for the organization – see the winner’s letters on this page

Activities –Water sampling has begun at 14 points along the river.  These monthly samples are used to determine phosphate levels, one of the key indicators of water quality that we are monitoring.

Survey – We are very fortunate to have the support of a student from Lakehead University – Mr. Ian Wells – who will be conducting a survey of various activities and uses of the river during the summer months

Ian will be travelling the river, talking with folks about their activities and compiling a summary of his results.  This information will further assist us as we learn more about our water system, its uses and the impact of the use on the quality of the resource

If you should meet Ian, please extend him a warm French River welcome and assist him in any way you can

Public Meeting  Plans are currently being finalized for our annual Public meeting to be held August 10^th in Alban (see advertisement on this page)

We are expecting to provide information about the water and sewage handling in Noelville, results of our testing to date, specific areas where we see potential problems and things YOU can do to ensure we maintain a very high level of water quality.

Please mark this date on your calendar and join us as we review our activities for the last year and discuss our plans and visions for our future.

Your participation is an essential part of the work we do, the activities we undertake, and the impact we make on your water

See you on August 10^th!

French River Water Stewardship Council News

Water Sampling 2007 results:

Thanks to the assistance of the Ontario Lake Partner Program we were able to sample 12 locations along the French River during our 2007 cottage season. Three sets of samples were taken at each location one in spring, one in summer and the third in the fall. Sampling focused on nutrient loading as measured by total phosphorus in ug/l. (Micrograms per litre).

A detailed review of our findings will be provided at our membership meeting this summer. Sample results will be posted on our web site, www.frenchriverwater.ca prior to the meeting.

Projects under review for 2008:

• We plan continue the water sampling project for the next two or more years so that we can establish a water quality trend line.
• We will be monitoring the blue green algae work being completed by various government agencies and will formally request input and updates on behalf of the community.
• To give all residence an opportunity for information sharing and input we plan to hold a public meeting again this summer. 

Membership:

  The French River Stewardship Council currently has 55 full memberships and approximately 440 association members. Individual memberships have voting rights and receive information packages in the mail on an annual or more frequent basis. The cost of a full membership is $25 per year.

Associate memberships can be purchased by your cottage association or other group. Associate memberships are given up to 2 seats on our council, and all members are invited to our public meetings through their respective associations.

For more information check our web site. To purchase a membership send your phone number and address with a check to The French River Stewardship Council, RR 2, Site 1, Box 21 Alban, On. P0M 1A0.

Who we are – formed in 2007, we are group of concerned individuals who are actively working to improve the quality of the water in the French River system.

BLUE GREEN ALGEA blooms appeared late in 2007 and represent exactly the kind of situation we must work to control and prevent in the future.

While not a specific topic for our group at the beginning, clearly we must all work to prevent any further contamination to our water. See 2008 activities below.

The testing we did last fall concluded the level of contamination was less than half the lever of what is considered problematic by the Ministry of Health.

See our web site for a complete report from the Ministry of Health on this subject.

WATER SAMPLING was the first priority we undertook to establish and understand the nutrient and phosphorous content of our river.

We have now established what the levels are in 12 locations at 3 separate times, spring, summer and fall.  This will allow us to continue to measure and understand fluctuations of these components.

The 2007 results showed phosphorus loading from Lake Nipissing and in the main channel to be in a normal range.  Of the 12 samples 5 showed an increase in phosphorus levels as we moved from spring to fall samples this is important as seasonally increasing levels may contribute to algae blooms.

These are the contaminants that will promote the growth of harmful plants (such as Blue Green algae) and by better understanding how much and where the access points are – we can communicate what needs to be done to better control our environment.

Special thanks to the Ontario Lake waters program for their support in the testing analysis.

ACTIVITIES include the following;

Continue with the water sampling program to monitor contaminant levels.

Specifically monitor the work being done on Blue Green Algae by various government agencies and communicate information as appropriate.

Complete a land use study and invasive weed survey – results to be posted on the web site.

Hold a public meeting to present the Council structure, elect a Board of Directors, and share information and plans.

Tree planting initiatives.

Spawning beds cleaning and rehabilitation.

MEMBERSHIP continues to grow, but not fast enough.

Membership is the key to any successful organization and your support is critical to ours.

We are working to ensure the quality of YOUR water improves and to ensure we have done everything possible to prevent the water warnings of last fall from repeating.

We welcome the support from the French River Cottagers Association and from and (add name of the other group) as well as many residents.

You can help – join us now – for only $25.00 you get a one year membership and an opportunity to vote for your new Board of Directors.  Group memberships are also available.

For more information on how you can join please visit our web site at   frenchriverstewardship.ca or write to:

The French River Stewardship Council

RR 2, Site 1, Box 21

Alban, ON    P0M 1A0