Soyers Lake AGM
July 11, 2015
What is the CHA?
 Coalition of Haliburton Property Owners'
Associations (CHA) is a member-driven group, of 50
property owners' associations, representing more
than 100 lakes from across the geographical limits of
Haliburton County, in Ontario Canada
Our Mission Statement
 The CHA is a broadly-based Haliburton coalition of
volunteers, drawing upon the collective knowledge and
strength of its member associations to create synergy
through sharing best practices, effectively studying
common issues, developing common solutions,
recommending county-wide policies and influencing
outcomes. Member associations always remain
autonomous
Our common thread....
Our common views
SLA 2015
Case Bessie
T. Rutherford
And our common mind set to
protecting and maintaining the health
of our lakes
SLA 2015
Users of the lake
SLA 2015
SLA 2015
K. Doucette
Other users of the
lake
D.Burns
T. Rutherford
S. McMurray
pbase.com
J. Crowley
J. Crowley
J. Crowley
Water quality is important to ALL end
users
 All activities that occur within and on adjacent land have an
effect on water quality.
What does the term “water quality”
mean?
 “The chemical, physical and biological content of water"
(Environment Canada, 2015).
 “The condition of the water, including chemical, physical, and
biological characteristics, usually with respect to its suitability
for a particular purpose such as drinking or swimming (National
Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration 2014).
Photos: 1.Campcouchiching.com, 2. Globalnews.ca
Factors that affect water quality
Ec.gc.on
More factors which affect water quality
 Biological
 Invasive species
Photos: tamu.edu
How do we assess water quality?
Water quality is defined in terms of the chemical, physical,
and biological content of water (Environment Canada 2014)
Water transparency (Secchi disk)
Water colour (qualitative)
Water temperatures
Nutrient Analyses (Phosphorus and Nitrogen)
Vertical chemistry profiles (if possible)
 Dissolved Oxygen
 Specific conductance (conductivity/ provides a measure of dissolved
solids within the water column
 pH
 Misc. parameters (e.g. metals, organics etc)
Biological data
Vegetation
Fish
Benthic organisms
Zooplankton
Phytoplankton
Microscopyuk.org
OFAH
Vegetation
 Measure quantity of various species within a designated area
split into quadrants
Fish
 Seine nets
 Electrofishing
 Weigh, measure, count species
 Stewardship reporting programs
Benthic analyses
 Benthic: the bottom of a river, lake or ocean.
The benthic zone includes the organisms that live
there. They can tell us a lot about the water
quality.
Ontario Benthos Biomonitoring
Network (MOE)
 Certification course
 Strong methodology training in rivers, wetlands and lakes
 Provincial database to compare species, geographical areas
and impact
Phytoplankton
 Phyto (plant) + plankton (floating/living within a water column)
www.msu.edu
Zooplankton
Zoo (animal)+ plankton (floating/living within a water column)
The interconnectedness and
importance of water quality
assessments and monitoring
CHA County Wide Water Quality
Initiative
 Partners with MOECC, MNRF, & OFAH
 Total Phosphorus
 Water Clarity (Secchi)
 Dissolved Oxygen
 Aquatic Invasive Species Awareness
 Ontario Biomonitoring Benthos Network (OBBN)
Why?
Proactive
Reactive
Soyers Lake Water Quality Data
Available on the website
TP mg/L
Soyer's Lake Average Total Phosphorus
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Ave TP
Provincial Guideline TP 20µg/L
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2014
Years
Phosphorus levels fall well below the Provincial guideline of
20 (µg/L). The Ministry of the Environment considers any
lake with phosphorus levels under 10 µg/L to be
oligiotrophic which means they are "dilute unproductive
lakes that rarely experience nuisance algal blooms“ MOE
2015.
Secchi (Water Transparency)
Depth )m)
Water clarity (Yearly average)
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Secchi readings
2008
2009
2010
2011
Years
2012
2013
2014
Water transparency or Secchi Depth measurements are a good indicator of
algal productivity within the water column and has a direct connection to
phosphorus concentrations in a lake.
Dissolved Oxygen Testing
Oxygen is consumed (or used) in the water column by aquatic animals and plants,
and decomposition by microorganisms. When more oxygen is consumed than
produced, the dissolved oxygen levels in the water column will decline.
EPA 2014
Monitoring the spread of zebra mussel and spiny & fish hook waterfleas in
Ontario waters
Impacts of Zebra and Quagga Mussels
•Alters food webs by filtration.
•Causes clearer water, allowing sunlight to
penetrate deeper, increasing growth of aquatic
vegetation.
• Impact fish and wildlife by increasing toxic
algal blooms.
•Large colonies affect spawning areas,
potentially impacting the survival of fish eggs.
•Affect recreational activities by cutting
swimmers feet as a result of their sharp shell.
Present, but cannot
live in Soyer’s lake due
to pH (unconfirmed)
Impacts of Spiny and Fishhook
Waterfleas
Researchers believe that spiny
waterfleas are the greatest threat to
the biodiversity and structure of
native zooplankton communities on
the Canadian Shield since acid rain.
•Increase competition in food sources
(zooplankton)
•Rapid multiplication
•Spreads easily
Emily Debolt
What you can do to protect your lake as
an association
 Particpate in citizen science programs such as:
 CHA Water Quality Monitoring Initiative
 Ontario Nature Reptile and Amphibian atlas monitoring
program
 Frog Watch
 Turtle Watch
 Dragonfly counts
 Fishing logs*/ Anglers group
 Shoreline Inventory program/ Love your Lake!
What you can do as an individual
 Maintaining/ creating a
naturalized shoreline to
have filter buffers for
runoff, erosion control
& shade creation
Ribbon of life video
A beginners guide to
shoreline stewardship
Ensure properly working septics
 Pump outs (Buyers group)
 Inspections (What does a
good inspection look like and
how much does it cost?)
 Low flush toilets/ water
conservation
 Upcoming CHA Septic day
 http://www.cohpoa.org/
 For great resources
Oasis.com
Prevention of Invasive Species
 Rental properties
 Boat ramp signs (@ Kash)
 Education session
Education & stewardship are key
 Have educational events
 Tell someone what you have learned
 Become involved
 Get kids involved
G. Ramsdale
Finally, Keep on loving your lake!