Little Red Wing Creek Rehabilitation

Cold ground water is a vital component to ensure the sustainability of the existing aquatic community in the Beaver River, a predominant watercourse in the northern portion of the Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve.

The Blue Ridge Sportsmen's Club has been working towards protecting and enhancing the health of the streams and rivers in the Beaver River Watershed. The Sportsmen's Club is a member of the Blue Mountain Watershed Trust, a volunteer organization helping to coordinate a regional approach to watershed restoration and protection.

Location: The McKinlay Farm

The Beaver River, together with Little Red Wing Creek (one of its coldwater tributaries) is a valuable water resource located in the northern portion of the Niagara Escarpment. A strong upwelling spring, which is an important headwater area and coldwater source for the Beaver River, originates on the McKinlay farm property near Ravenna in Grey County. The spring provides water to an adjacent well for the household as well as to a trough for cattle.

The Problem:

Even though the cattle do not have direct access to Little Red Wing Creek, wastewater runoff from the cattle watering area was entering the stream.

Nitrogen contained in the wastewater caused an overgrowth of algae and other aquatic plants which inhibited the flow of water. This caused an accumulation of silt in the stream. This condition was intensified by the presence of an old beaver dam 100 m away. Consequently, the stream immediately downstream from the cattle watering area was deep with silt, choked with aquatic plants and much wider than the original stream channel. All of these conditions cumulatively degraded the health of the stream, and therefore negatively impacted the health of the waters flowing through and under the Niagara Escarpment.

A rehabilitation plan was initiated in 1999 and completed in the summer of 2000. The project was implemented through a partnership between the local landowners, the Blue Ridge Sportsmen's Club, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Niagara Escarpment Commission.

1. A concrete pad was installed under the watering trough and the area where the cattle stand to drink.
2. A curb was built into the pad in order to divert the water away from the stream.
3. An outflow pipe was fitted into the water trough in order for excess water to be piped directly back into the stream instead of overflowing onto the ground
4. A wetland wastewater treatment system was constructed to duplicate the processes occurring in natural wetlands. The constructed system consists of a series of treatment ponds in which the wastewater flows through before reaching the stream. These ponds treat the wastewater with a variety of biological, chemical and physical processes. It is an integrated system in which plants, microorganisms, gravel substrate, soil and sunlight interact to improve water quality.
5. The old beaver dam was removed.
6. Native vegetation was planted along the stream bank to help stabilize and shade the stream.

Summary of results:

Site visits in the fall of 2001 indicated that the restoration activities were a great success. The created wetland is fully functioning with the established vegetation working to treat the contaminated wastewater. Brook trout have been spotted in the cooler, cleaner waters that now flow through Little Red Wing Creek.

Project Support:

Funding was provided by Friends of the Environment Foundation as part of a national restoration project coordinated by the Canadian Biosphere Reserves Association.