The Niagara Water Quality Protection Strategy ( NWQPS ) (2003) has identified the need to manage Niagara's watersheds in such a manner as to "sustain healthy rural and urban communities in harmony with a natural environment, rich in species diversity". Recent changes to the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS), issued under the Planning Act, now includes policies whereby Planning Authorities shall protect, improve or restore the quality and quantity of water by using the watershed as an ecologically meaningful scale for land use planning. The Fort Erie Watershed Plan will make recommendations to Planning Authorities on the best way to protect, improve and restore water quality and quantity in the land use planning process as well as recommend a restoration program and associated strategies to achieve the NWQPS vision.

The Fort Erie Watershed Plan will provide strategies that will allow the community to care for water resources, natural heritage, settlement and agriculture in the context of land use planning documents (e.g., Official Plans). It will also provide strategies for implementing the watershed initiatives and specify who is responsible for remedial actions outside of the land use planning process (e.g., restoration opportunities on public and private lands). The Fort Erie Watershed Plan will generally follow the process described in Water Management on a Watershed Basis: Implementing an Ecosystem Approach , (MOEE, MNR 1993).

The Fort Erie watershed includes Local Management Areas 2.13, 2.18 and 3.4 as identified in the NWQPS, including almost all of the Town of Fort Erie (except for the lands that drain towards Point Abino), a portion of the City of Port Colborne and a very small area in the City of Niagara Falls. Several subwatersheds form the Fort Erie watershed including Beaver Creek, Black Creek, Baker Creek, Frenchman's Creek, Niagara River 19 and 20, Six Mile Creek and Kraft Drain (Figure 1). The major concentration of urban land uses (residential, commercial, industrial) is within the former Town of Fort Erie. Other urban concentrations in the study area exist at Ridgeway, a small portion of Crystal Beach, Thunder Bay, Stevensville and Douglastown. There is also a rural settlement area located between the Old Town of Fort Erie and Ridgeway.

Figure 1: Fort Erie Creeks Watershed

Local Management Area 3.4 drains into Lake Erie. Canada and the United States signed a Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1978 which committed both countries to address water quality issues in the Great Lakes as a coordinated effort. Through this agreement both countries agreed to develop and implement Lakewide Management Plans (LaMPs) for each Great Lake. The purpose of the LaMPs is to identify environmental impairments in the lakes and develop strategies to restore these impairments. The Lake Erie LaMP was completed in 2000, and includes remedial actions the can be implemented immediately which addresses things such as urban sprawl, shoreline development, climate change, the introduction of non-native invasive species, the use and destruction of natural lands and resources. The Fort Erie Watershed plan should address the Lake Erie LaMP.

The Fort Erie Watershed Plan will also take into consideration the Shoreline Management Plan for Lake Erie completed in June 1992 for the NPCA jurisdiction. The major goals of the shoreline management plan were to minimize danger to life and property damage from flooding, erosion and associate hazards along the shoreline, and to ensure that shoreline development adequately addressed these hazards.

The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority undertook a Watershed Flood Damage Assessment study in 1988 which evaluated flood damage centres within the jurisdictional area of the Authority. Black Creek at Douglastown was identified as having flood damage potential and accordingly, a number of recommendations were made with respect to mitigating potential impacts from flooding events. To date, non structural measures such as flood forecasting and flood plain management policies have been applied to Black Creek.

There are two water quality monitoring (chemical and biological) stations on both Black Creek and Frenchman's Creek.  Both of these creeks have impaired water quality primarily from nutrient enrichment where Total Phosphorus and Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen consistently exceed water quality guidelines.   There are also finding high levels of chlorides (road salt) as the lower portions of Frenchman's Creek pass through the urbanized areas of Fort Erie.

The watershed is characterized by a very flat topography, an abundance of woodlands/wetlands and good general agricultural areas outside of urbanized areas. The Town of Fort Erie commissioned a study in 1992 to document the natural heritage areas in the Town's four urban areas and one rural settlement area. The Bert Miller Nature Club also looked at the natural heritage areas outside of the urban and rural settlement areas as part of the Town's Official Plan review process. Aquatic habitat is also considered good in the watershed. For example, Frenchman's Creek, Black Creek, Miller Creek, Baker Creek are classed as critical fish habitat. Many of the creeks in the Fort Erie watershed are now municipal drains which may have implications for fish and fish habitat.

Scope of the Study

The intent of this project is to produce a watershed plan developed in consultation with appropriate government agencies, landowners and interest groups that assists with the management of water, land/water interactions, aquatic life and aquatic resources to protect and improve the health of the watershed ecosystem. The Fort Erie Watershed Plan will provide a systematic strategy to guide development, identify and recommend alternative and preferred restoration programs, and strengthen stewardship and partnerships in the watershed. Once complete, the Fort Erie Watershed Plan will characterize the watershed; identify and prioritize key issues in the watershed and recommend strategies based on the key issues.

Watershed Inventory and Actions

The project consultant shall review all available information pertaining to the Fort Erie watershed and undertake field surveys as necessary to produce a complete characterization and inventory of the watershed and watercourse conditions (including natural channels and municipal drains). The study components will include but not be limited to the following:

•  Floodplain Mapping: This component of the study will undertake the necessary hydrologic and hydraulic analysis in order to generate 100 year return period floodlines for Beaver Creek, Black Creek, Baker Creek, Miller Creek, Kraft Drain, and Six Mile Creek.

•  Stream Morphology : This component of the watershed study will confirm reach boundaries and channel sensitivities through an historic assessment and synoptic level survey

•  Fish and Aquatic Habitat: This component of the study will assess existing fish communities and fish habitat conditions in the watershed.

•  Natural Heritage: This component of the watershed study will include the identification of existing wetlands, woodlands, wildlife travel corridors and wildlife habitat areas as well as the relationship between wildlife and natural areas.

•  Lake Erie Shoreline : The watershed plan will update the components of the Lake Erie Management Plan that are outdated and to bring them to the current standards for Natural Hazards and Natural Heritage under the PPS.

•  Water Quantity: The project consultant shall assess issues pertaining to water quantity in the watershed. For example, the watershed study will include an evaluation of the ability of watercourses (including municipal drains) to sustain healthy populations and other aquatic life, as well as recreational uses (e.g., fishing).

•  Water Quality: This component of the watershed study will assess the existing water quality of the creeks and tributaries within the Fort Erie watershed.

•  Rural Point and Non-Point Source Pollution: T his component of the watershed plan will include the dissemination of a landowner survey to rural landowners to identify any rural non-point source problem areas and identify rural BMPs.

•  Urban Development: The watershed plan will investigate existing and future areas designated for urban development with respect to these potential impacts, and make recommendations to protect, improve and restore water quality and quantity in these areas recognizing the recent changes to Provincial legislation (e.g. Planning Act, Provincial Policy Statement, Greenbelt Plan and proposed Greater Golden Horseshoe Plan).

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Appendices

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Technical Appendices

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