TRCA conducts scientific monitoring of Lake Ontario’s water quality in the Pickering and Ajax nearshore. The effects of activities in the watershed on the lake which receives this water are shown in the nearshore environment.
WHAT’S NEW?
Western Lake Ontario “Land to Lake Initiative”
Communities around western Lake Ontario have a combined effect on the health of our watersheds and the nearshore of Lake Ontario through their respective land use planning decisions.
Currently, decision-making by organizations and governments responsible for land use management with the potential to influence the lake are disconnected.
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) and Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) have been exploring an initiative — the Western Lake Ontario: Land to Lake Initiative — that would allow partner organizations to maximize the combined impact of policy, research, and implementation measures on the health of our watersheds and the nearshore of Western Lake Ontario.
The report below summarizes the outcomes from the exploratory phase of this initiative, and offers recommendations for next steps in pursuing a partnership initiative for Western Lake Ontario.
ABOUT THE NEARSHORE
The “nearshore” generally includes the shoreline (or lake edge) and the area of the lake out to a depth of approximately 30 metres.
Nearshore water quality shows us the effects of activities in the watershed on the lake which receives this water. Activities on land, and in the streams which empty into the lake, also affect the conditions of Ajax and Pickering beaches.
TRCA monitors water quality in the proximity of the intake for Durham Region’s Ajax Water Supply Plant and near the Duffin Water Pollution Control Plant outfall.
Monitoring has been ongoing since 2007. More than $1 million has been invested, yielding one of the most comprehensive monitoring programs for the Great Lakes nearshore environment. TRCA shares this data with academics, other governments, and the public.
