Since our beginning in 1998 the BRWP has had many accomplishments within the Bonnechere River Watershed. Over the past 11 years we have provided education to landowners and students, offered incentives to become better envrionmental stewards and run a variety of programs that focus on the health and integrity of the Bonnechere Watershed.
Within this website you will find information about who we are, what the BRWP stands for, what we have done in the past and where we are going
This website was made possible by the Ontario Trillium Foundation
in the future. Be sure to check out our section on our newest program Riverwatch!
As the BRWP is a volunteer based organization we are always looking for new volunteers. Our ‘About Us’ section will tell you a lot about what the organization is all about. If you are interested in volunteering with us in any way please contact us!
As an engaged non-profit organization, the Bonnechere River Watershed Project has devoted much of its time to community involvement and environmental stewardship including, most recently, our Riverwatch Program. While progress has been made through these initiatives, the BRWP is continuously searching for opportunities to inform decision-making. It is with this particular mindset that a fellow non-profit organization, Ottawa Riverkeeper, has organized the Ottawa River Summit, scheduled for Wednesday, August 27, 2010. The summit aims to engage a variety of municipal staff representing the Ottawa River watershed in discussions of issues regarding the condition of the river, developing a shared vision for the future of the watershed, and promoting public involvement in probelm solving. Given that the Bonnechere River watershed is within the Ottawa River watershed, the BRWP looks forward to our municipalities attending the Summit and seeing what shall become of this exciting opportunity. For more information on the Summit, (e.g. guest list, participating municipalities) and Ottawa Riverkeeper, please click here to visit their website.
One of the factors that degrades water quality in the Bonnechere Watershed is organic pollution, or sewage. Currently, the most common practice for dealing with rural septic tank waste is to spread it on fields to decompose. There are fairly obvious issues in this method of waste management. During heavy rainfall events, septage can be carried directly into lakes and rivers. The influx of raw sewage into these delicate systems causes nutrient loading, which can lead to algal blooms, siltation and increases the likelyhood of the E-coli bacteria. The province of Ontario recognizes the negative environmental and human health impacts in the traditional septic systems, and regulations are moving towards
Planting a reed bed is one way to reduce the negative impacts of your septic system
restricing or even banning this practice. In response to this inevitability, and with the help of the Green Municipal Fund, Renfrew County created a Biosolids and Septage Management Plan in 2005, which suggests eight alternative methods to handle rural sewage.
The following linked documents describe a case study of this project, as well as the actual report itself.
GMF Case Study
Renfrew Biosolids and Septage Management Plan
SHOW YOU CARE – BECOME A BRWP SUPPORTER – EVEN BETTER – GET INVOLVED.
Memberships are $10 for individuals, and $20 for your family. The Bonnechere River Watershed Project (BRWP) will provide you with an official receipt for Income Tax purposes. We benefit from your generosity and you get a break on your Income Tax!
To become a member please complete the form and mail to BRWP, PO Box 234 Renfrew;, ON K7V 4A3, or bring it to the registration desk at our AGM.
Thank you! Read more…
Dear Bonnechere River Watershed Supporter,
You are invited to attend the 10th Annual General Meeting of the Bonnechere River Watershed Project, to be held at the Royal Canadian Legion, 30 Raglan St. S. in Renfrew, from 7:00-9:00 pm on Thursday, April 29, 2010. Refreshments provided.
The past year has been a particularly eventful one for the BRWP with the launch of the RiverWatch program and the Future Scenarios engagement series. With significant funding support from Ontario Trillium Foundation and Science Horizons, we were able to assess stream quality within the watershed, to further develop our website and on-line information resource for watershed education and planning, and to engage residents in critical conversations about the future of our watershed. Read more…
A survey of residents of the Bonnechere River Watershed (BRW) is being used to solicit information about which environmental benefits are important to them and also how land and water management decisions made by residents on their own private land are influenced by different organizations.
You are invited to participate in this study which aims to evaluate the long-term supply of environmental benefits in the Bonnechere River Watershed (BRW). These environmental benefits include such things as fresh water supply, food production, and habitat for biodiversity, as well as opportunities for recreation and the use of natural resources. The “Valuing Rural Landscapes Survey” will take approximately 20 – 30 minutes to complete and participation in the survey is anonymous. Read more…
A new layer has been added to the Riverwatch Map which depicts stream order. Stream order is a useful tool in watershed management because it provides a means of definition between individual tributaries based on their size and strength of flow. On our map, the colours correspond to stream order as follows:
A legend for stream order as defined on the Riverwatch Map
Stream order hierarchy was proposed by a geosciences professor named Arthur Newell Strahler in 1952. First through third order streams are considered to be “headwater streams”, and make up approximately 80% of the worlds waterways. Fourth through sixth order streams are considered to be medium tributaries, and anything with an order of seven through twelve is considered to be a river. You will notice that the only waterway in our watershed that falls in the “river” category is the Bonnechere River, which is a seventh order stream.
Read more…
Participants place themselves along a sketch of our watershed, in a place of personal significance
On Saturday November 21st 2009 at the Legion in Eganville, the BRWP Riverwatch Program hosted its second Future Scenarios Workshop. Participants of this event were those who make a living directly from the land and its natural resources. Interests represented here included those of forestry, agriculture, first nations, trapping and power generation throughout the Bonneche Valley. The event proved to be quite thought provoking for both BRWP facilitators and attendees.
Lunch at this event featured food that was grown and produced locally. Hot beverages were available all day which consisted of coffee from the Neat Coffee shop located in Burnstown (who also provided fresh bread), as well as Sacred Blend Tea from The Algonquin Tea Co. A stew was put together by the Legion ladies. Ingredients included beef from Stone Farms, and potatoes, carrots, and turnip from the gardens of the legion ladies themselves. An apple crisp was made from apples donated by Dobson Farm outside Cobden, and served with real whipped cream from Brums Dairy. The Dairy also provided milk, coffee cream, and butter as well. Needless to say, everything was delicious! Read more…
An up-close look at the invasive Chinese Mystery Snail
Finding new and interesting creatures in the watershed is most often a positive and exciting experience. Sometimes however, the creatures we find turn out to be unwelcome visitors. Invasive species are any organism that is found in an area where it has not occupied historically. Most often these organisms are from far away, and arrive here as a result of human activity. The introduction of an invasive species can prove to be devastating to local food webs and ecosystems. One example of an invasive species that can be found in the Bonnechere River Watershed is the Chinese Mystery Snail (CMS).
Read more…
Workshop participants learn about the scenario process from presenter Allyson Quinlan.
On August 15th 2009, the BRWP’s Riverwatch program held the first of what is to be a series of community engagement workshops focused on drafting up scenarios that represent possible futures of the Bonnechere River Watershed may face. The event took place at the Sands on Golden Lake and featured guests who reside on or near water throughout the Bonnechere River watershed. Read more…
The BRWP Paddle Guide was made in partnership with students in the the Outdoor Adventure Naturalist students program in Algonquin College. It provides useful information on the area, beautiful photos, and canoeing maps for the Round Lake and Golden Lake areas. The guide can be viewed and/or downloaded by following the link below:
Algonquin Paddle Guide
