HomeMy WebLinkAboutPD-54-83 4
CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF NEWCASTLE
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT T.T.EDWARDS,M.C.I.P.,Director
HAMPTON,ONTARIO LOB 1JO TEL.(416)263-2231
REPORT TO THE GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
MEETING OF APRIL 5th, 1983
REPORT NO. : PD-54-83
SUBJECT: KAWARTHA REGION CONSERVATION AUTHORITY
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
RECOMMENDATION:
It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and
Administration Committee recommend to Council the
following:
1 . That Report PD-54-83 be received; and
2. That the Kawartha Region Conservation Authority
be advised that the Town of Newcastle supports
the Watershed Management Strategy prepared by
the Kawartha Region Conservation Authority as
forming the directional framework for future
activities of the Conservation Authority; and
3. That the Kawartha Region Conservation Authority
be provided with a copy of Staff Report
PD-54-83.
BACKGROUND:
In early February 1983, the Town of Newcastle received a
copy of the Kawartha Region Conservation Authority Watershed
Management Strategy.
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Report No: PD-54-83 . . ./2
The Authority requested that the Town review the Strategy
and provide an endorsement of its management principles .
Planning Department staff have reviewed the document and are
now seeking Council 's position on the Watershed Management
Strategy.
The Kawartha Region Conservation Authority Watershed, which
covers 2. 563 square kilometres (989.6 square miles),
includes the Upper Trent Canal and the Kawartha Lakes and
forms part of the larger Trent River Watershed. A total of
twenty (20) municipalities lie totally or partially within
the Kawartha Watershed. In the Town of Newcastle, the
Authority has jurisdiction over approximately 1 600 hectares
(3,954 acres) in the north-east corner of the former
Township of Darlington , which makes up only 2.8% of the
total land area of the Town. Burketon Station is the only
Hamlet lying within the Kawartha Region Watershed.
The Watershed Management Strategy
The Watershed Management Strategy is divided into four
sub-strategies - water-management, conservation and land
management, information and education , and resource and
heritage planning. Within each of these sub-strategies, a
series of management programs is outlined to fulfill the
goal of each. The Conservation Authority has established
water management - specifically, flood damage reduction and
erosion control - as its primary mandate. Therefore, the
underlying theme of the four strategies and the eleven
management programs is to provide a spectrum of land and
water management to support the Water Management Strategy.
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Report No: PD-54-83 .. ./3
The Water Management Strategy
The goal of this Strategy is given as promoting the
conservation of the water resource phase while recognizing
and maintaining the multiple uses of the resource. Five
programs have been identified which will act together to
achieve this goal .
The Flood Hazard Reduction Program has , as its objective, a
reduction in the risk of loss of life and property damage
resulting from flooding. As part of this program, the
Conservation Authority plans to enact flood and fill
regulations and has initiated a flood warning system and
documented flood-prone areas within the Watershed. No sites
were identified within the Town of Newcastle. Where
possible, flood-prone lands are acquired and flood control
structures are installed. As well , the Authority liaises
with the municipalities within its Watershed by providing
comments on development applications and reviewing planning
documents.
The objective of the erosion control program is to help
minimize the erosion problems in the Watershed. The
Authority has documented erosion sites along natural
watercourses and along agricultural drains, since erosion
associated with agricultural drainage has been identified as
a major contributor to water-quality impairment. Again, no
sites of concern within the Town of Newcastle are
identified. The Authority has also initiated an extension
service to help private land owners with erosion problems,
and plans to enact a construction and alteration to waterway
regulations and to register fill lines. Once the lines are
registered, the Authority will encourage municipalities to
appropriately zone the areas so delinated.
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Report No: PD-54-83 .. ./4
As part of the Storm Water Management Program, the
Conservation Authority intends to encourage the
municipalities within its Watershed to develop master storm
water management plans to help reduce the potential for
flooding and erosion and the associated water quality
problems. Storm water management schemes are generally
developed to deal with storm water run-off from urban areas.
The only major development proposal in that portion of the
Town of Newcastle that lies within the Kawartha Watershed is
the draft approved plan of subdivision 18T-75362 (Burketon
Hills) in Burketon Station. However, the Central Lake
Ontario Conservation Authority has provided the comments on
this subdivision, since the Kawartha Region Conservation
Authority did not exist when the development was first
proposed in 1975, and storm water management concerns are
being addressed through the subdivision agreement.
The objectives of the Low-flow Ground-water Maintenance
Program is to provide a sufficient surface and ground water
supply. A study commissioned by the Conservation Authority
to document ground water recharge areas identified the Oak
Ridges Moraine, which forms the highest relief in the
Watershed, as being a regionally significant ground-water
recharge area. All of that portion of the Town of Newcastle
which lies within the Kawartha Watershed is occupied by the
Moraine. The Town 's draft comprehensive restricted area
by-law designates virtually all of this area as
Agricultural , thereby helping to maintain its rural
character and thus the ground-water regime.
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Report No: PD-54-83 .. ./5
The Watershed Management Strategy also identifies low-flow
low-water level conditions on some water courses in the
Watershed as matters of concern. This problem is not
related to any land use practises within Newcastle, since
those water courses originating in the Oak Ridges Moraine
experience high base loads. However, because of the
hydrological significance of recharge areas such as the
Moraine, the Authority plans to ensure, in the course of
regulation and plan review activities, that any development
proposal in a recharge area is supported by site-specific
investigations which examine the suitability of the area for
the proposed use.
The objective of the Water Monitoring Program is to develop
and maintain a system for collecting long term water quality
and quantity conditions within the Watershed. Such
information is essential since it provides the basis for
numerous resource management decisions.
Conservation and Land Management Strategy
Effective water management is not possible if it is not
conducted in conjunction with a co-ordinated land management
strategy. Therefore, the two programs of the Conservation
and Land Management Strategy have been devised to contribute
directly to the success of the water management strategy.
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The Land Management Program establishes a basis for
effective land management by documenting areas of
bio-physical significance, such as fish spawning areas found
within the Watershed. No such sites were documented within
the Town of Newcastle. As well , the program details the
methods such as land acquisition, management agreements ,
enforcement of regulations and liaison with municipalities,
through which the Authority can exercise some degree of
control over lands possessing environmentally significant
and sensitive characteristics.
Report No: PD-54-83 .. ./6
Through its Extension Services Program, the Authority
provides advice and assistance to private landowners in such
areas as tree planting and erosion and sediment control . By
promoting responsible land and water management among
individual landowners , the Authority is contributing
directly to its primary objective of maintaining and
enhancing the integrity of the ground and surface water
systems.
Information and Education Strategy
An effective information and education strategy is essential
to the successful operation of any Conservation Authority.
The Information Program will make Watershed residents aware
of the role of the Kawartha Region Conservation Authority
and inform them of any Authority programs and services which
may be important to them. The Education Program is designed
to promote an appreciation of the Watershed's natural
resources and foster a broader environmental ethic among
the residents. Although this strategy does not contribute
directly to the Authority's overall objective of responsible
water management, nevertheless, it is important as a basis
for conscientious environmental management.
Resource and Heritage Planning Strategy
The objective of the Resource Planning Program is to develop
and implement management plans for all Conservation
Authority lands in order to optimize their use in terms of
natural resource management and providing benefits to
Watershed residents. Such plans are important in that they
give directions for the capital works and funding
requirements for Authority land and guide details like
development.
Report No: PD-54-83 .. ./7
The objective of the Heritage Planning Program is to
conserve and interpret heritage resources found on Authority
lands and thus help to acquaint the public with the heritage
resources of the Kawartha Region. This program will be
implemented primarily through the management plans developed
as part of the resources planning program.
COMMENTS:
The Town of Newcastle is located at the very southern tip of
the Kawartha Region Watershed, and actually only makes up
0.6% of the Watershed area. As noted in the discussion of
the Watershed Strategy, no flood-prone or erosion-prone
areas, or areas of bio-physical significance are identified
as being located in the Town. Indeed, none of the stream
channels feeding into the Kawartha Watershed appear to even
extend into Newcastle. The Conservation Authority
identifies that portion of the Town within the Kawartha
Region as being included in the Oak Ridges Moraine, a very
significant ground-water recharge area for the Watershed.
However, there is very little development in this area, and
the draft comprehensive restricted area by-law designates
most of this area as Agricultural .
It is therefore staff's opinion that the Kawartha Region
Conservation Authority Watershed Management Strategy has
very little impact on the planning policies of the Town of
Newcastle.
From discussions with the Conservation Authority, staff have
learned that the Watershed Management Strategy was
originally initiated in 1980 as a working document to guide
the Authority's programs and activities.
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Report No: PD-54-83 . . ./8
However, in the Spring of 1982, the Ministry of Natural
Resources issued a directive requiring all conservation
authorities in the Province to prepare internal watershed
plans by June, 1983. The Conservation Authority thus
revised their original document somewhat, and are hopeful
that this document will be accepted by the Ministry of
Natural Resources as a Watershed Plan.
In his letter accompanying the Watershed Management
Strategy, the Chairman of the Kawartha Region Conservation
Authority requested that the Town of Newcastle review the
Strategy document, and provide an endorsement of its
management principles. Based on our review of the Strategy,
staff feel that it is based on solid natural resource
management principles and does not conflict with any of the
Town 's planning policies. Staff therefore respectfully
recommend that Council endorse the document as forming the
directional framework for future activities of the Kawartha
Region Conservation Authority.
Respe ul itted,
T. T. Edwards, M.C.I.P.
Director of Planning
JAS*TTE*mjc
March 23, 1983
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