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Money approved for summer study of Mono waterway

May 31, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Mono Centre Creek’s water temperature seems to be rising.

And that could be a threat to fish habitat, said Karen Morrison, the chairperson of the town’s Headwater Streams Committee.

The committee and the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority worked together in June 2023 to survey a section of Mono Centre Creek at the Whitetail Nature Refuge. It was part of a joint brook trout distribution survey of the Nottawasaga River and its tributaries that began in 2022.

“The reason we did this is brook trout are an indicator species,” Morrison said. “So it wasn’t just about brook trout, but it’s an indicator of the health of just about everything else that’s in that stream, including plant life and tree life.”

The work in Mono Centre Creek confirmed a healthy brook trout population. Preliminary temperature data indicated the artificial online pond temperatures were four degrees Celsius warmer.

“This warming means the creek will no longer be suitable for brook trout and cold water aquatic life,” she said.

Their work was essentially updating data from a study done on the waterway in 1962, she said.

“It’s helping Mono when all the other interested parties understand what is happening in our streams and creeks and rivers,” Morrison said. “So that we can build upon a plan of the priority areas.

“That will be determined by the best possible impact of the work that we do.”

It was realized that further work needs to be done to fully understand the changes in the waterway. To that end, the committee asked council’s permission to use $2,000 to fund a study in June.

She said five “data loggers” will be placed at five locations to assess the waterway. Locations include three inflow streams that feed two ponds, the outflow waterway, and another at a location about a kilometre downstream.

She said water flow and temperature will be measured. The committee will help the NVCA with the installation of the data loggers.

“That will help us understand is there’s mitigation happening from springs that could be popping up downstream,” she said. “This is really an investigative study that we want to conduct so we better understand what’s happening at Mono Centre Creek.”

Data will be ready for presentation in the fall of this year.

As many as 500 trees and shrubs were planted along the creek in early May. And as many as 1,500 trees and shrubs were planted in a field in the area of one of the ponds.

“So there’s some good work happening to have a decent canopy to look at road runoff for toxins,” Morrison said. “Plants and trees are very good at mitigating that. So work has already started on looking after this property.”

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