A safe and secure long-term water supply is crucial for the quality of life of all watershed residents. It is a key factor in ensuring economic prosperity and healthy communities. A healthy watershed means clean drinking water, habitat for wildlife, an adequate water supply for agriculture and business, and recreational opportunities such as canoeing, fishing and hiking.
Our watersheds are a series of interconnected ecosystems including, wetlands, streams, forests, lakes and rivers. The links between these areas means that what happens upstream will affect the environment downstream. It takes about three days for a drop of water to travel from the headwaters of the Maitland River to Lake Huron. The amount of water in our watersheds is finite because what we have available is continually recycled through the hydrological cycle.
Our actions can have a direct impact on the health of our water resources. Both surface water and groundwater can be easily contaminated and even if the quantity of pollutants at one source is small, the combined impact of sources across a watershed can be significant. Water is truly a community resource! With careful use and protection of our water supplies we will continue to have enough clean water in the future.
Maitland Conservation is committed to working towards improving water quality in the Maitland and Nine Mile watersheds. We are working with several partners to monitor and report on water quality. This includes participating in the Provincial Water Quality Monitoring Network, the Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network, undertaking sampling at specific sites such as in the Middle Maitland River sub-basin and working with the Ashfield Colborne Lakefront Association on sampling along the Lake Huron shoreline.
Maitland Conservation has produced a series of Watershed Report Cards that convey information on the health of the seven major sub-basins that make up the Maitland and Nine Mile watersheds. Copies of these report cards are available in .pdf format on the documents page of this website. Paper copies are also available by contacting Jayne Thompson at jthompson@mvca.on.ca or calling 519-335-3557 ext. 226. We’re gearing up to produce the next series of report cards early in 2018. For more information on the province-wide Watershed Checkup Report Card initiative please visit: http://watershedcheckup.ca/ .
For further information on Maitland Conservation watershed data collection and monitoring please contact Mat Shetler at mshetler@mvca.on.ca or call 519-335-3557 ext. 244.