Cooksville Creek Watershed Study
Watch for the leopard frog. This environmentally sensitive amphibian symbolizes our region’s sustainability initiative to enhance and protect the Credit River watershed containing over 1,500 kilometres of tributaries, streams and creeks. With Peel Region’s population growing to an estimated 6.4 million by 2021, today’s decisions will significantly impact our supply of abundant, safe, clean water for an environmentally, socially and economically healthy community.
Credit Valley Conservation has completed an update to an existing Water Management Strategy (CRWMSU) which when implemented will become an important tool in helping us to protect the Credit River Watershed. CVC, in partnership with the City of Mississauga and other partners, has initiated the Cooksville Creek Watershed Study as part of the Water Management Strategy. This four phase study will: 1) develop an understanding of the current character of our ecosystem, its condition and how it functions; 2) develop and evaluate management alternatives for future redevelopment/intensification and analyze restoration measures; 3) establish and implement the preferred set of solutions; and 4) initiate long term monitoring. The community has been invited to participate in all phases of this process through a series of workshops and seminars. Your thoughts and opinions are welcome. CRA Director Loretta James recently attended Phase 1 sessions “Making it Work” and “Stakeholders Pollution Prevention Workshop”.
Rapid urbanization within the Credit River watershed has had a negative impact on the health of our watershed environment. Water quality is adversely affected by run-off containing high concentrations of pollutants from urban areas and to a lesser degree agricultural areas. As our urban landscape expands and more area is covered by impervious surfaces, such as roads, parking lots and roofs, the quantity of stormwater run-off increases resulting in more flooding and erosion. An understanding of these changes using data from CVC’s over 150 monitoring sites and other scientific tools will help manage this impact with improved planning and development practices and help reverse the degradation with suitable restoration practices. The findings of the CRWMSU tell us last century’s approach to development will not help us reach our goal of a healthy sustainable watershed and new practices must be adopted for existing and new development.
Much
can be done to reverse these trends and we can all do our part to help.
Visit the CVC
website (click to follow) and then click on the “Save the Leopard
Frog” to see what you can do. Protecting the leopard frog by protecting
its environment will protect the wider environment and help ensure a
healthy watershed for us all.