Lake Erie North Shore Watershed Plan - Draft

Terms of Reference


The Niagara Water Quality Protection Strategy (2003), now known as the Niagara Water Strategy (NWS) (2006), 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, and rich in species diversity”. 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 Lake Erie North Shore Watershed Plan will make recommendations to planning authorities, interest groups and landowners 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 NWS (2006) vision.

A Watershed Plan is a proactive document created cooperatively by government agencies and the community to manage the water, land/water interactions, aquatic life and aquatic resources within a particular watershed to protect the health of the ecosystem as land uses change. The Lake Erie North Shore Watershed Plan will provide strategies to 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 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 Lake Erie North Shore Watershed Plan will generally follow the process described in Water Management on a Watershed Basis: Implementing an Ecosystem Approach, (MOEE, MNR 1993).

The Lake Erie North Shore watershed includes Local Management Areas, 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 as identified in the NWS (2006), which falls within the City of Port Colborne, Township of Wainfleet, and small portions of the Town of Fort Erie, and Haldimand County. Numerous subwatersheds form the Lake Erie North Shore watershed including Bay Beach Area Drain, Point Abino Drain, Bearss Drain, Beaver Dam Creek (P.C.), Oil Mill Creek, Wignell Creek, Welland Canal South, Eagle Marsh Drain, Wainfleet Marsh, Casey Drain, Hoover Drain, Low Banks Drain, and Lake Erie 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8
(Figure 1). The major concentration of urban land uses (residential, commercial, industrial) is within the City of Port Colborne within one smaller concentration of urban land uses in Crystal Beach.

In 1978, Canada and the United States signed a Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement 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 that 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 Lake Erie
North Shore Watershed Plan will address the Lake Erie LaMP.

Figure 1: Lake Erie Creeks Watershed

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

The topography of the Lake Erie North Shore watershed is relatively flat. Agriculture in the watershed is characterized primarily by poultry, dairy and some hog production, grain, oilseed, and some cereal production. Aquatic habitat is considered fair in the watershed. For example, based on the Ministry of Natural Resources fish habitat classification many of the creeks and drains are classified as important fish habitat, with these areas being the most suitable for enhancement or restoration projects. Several municipal drains are also located in this watershed with Department of Fisheries and Oceans classification ranging from B through F. This classification system is based on
such variables as flow conditions, temperature, fish species present, and the length of
time since the drain was last cleaned out.

Recreational uses in the watershed include areas such as the Welland Canal, Low Banks, Mohawk Point, Long Beach Country Club. Numerous beaches are also located in the Lake Erie North Shore watershed including Nickel Beach, Lorraine Point, Pinecrest Point, Wyldwood Beach, Sherkston Shores, Pleasant Beach, Point Abino, Abino Bay, Gravelly Point, Reeb’s Bay, Gravelly Bay and Crystal Beach. The Port Colborne Country Club, Country Lane Golf Club and Whiskey Run Golf Course are also located in this watershed.