Did you know the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) and the Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network (PGMN) report on our watershed every 5 years?
PGMN wells are designed for monitoring baseline groundwater conditions (not for monitoring groundwater contaminant plumes or effects of water takings). There are five wells sampled across the Mississippi Valley watershed – our closest well is on Pick Road (near Ramsay Concession 8).The data collected at these wells is used to help identify emerging trends – useful in regards to evaluating climate change. The MVCA uses groundwater quality and quantity data as an indicator of watershed health for our watershed report card. The latest report card (2013) offers a wealth of information to those interested in keeping the health of our watershed a primary focus. A link to the report card is here. The watershed report card is created every 5 years. The next report card will be in 2017.
Mississippi Mills is mainly in the Lower Mississippi region of the watershed, but parts of our community are located in the Indian and Mississippi Lake regions as well. Our regions’ overall subwatershed grades were good to excellent (fair being the lowest grade). Overall watershed health was calculated based on the surface water quality and forest conditions.
This week is Pitch-In week in Mississippi Mills and across Canada
Picking up litter helps keep groundwater and watershed health high. Please pick up litter (and animal waste) all year, but especially this week. Picking up litter keeps our town beautiful AND keeps us healthy. You can pick up pitch-in bags and information at the Old Town Hall to help out. More information about Pitch-In Week is here. Pitch-In Downtown Almonte clean-up day is April 25. We hope a big group will meet at Baker Bob’s at 9 am. Please bring your family and friends because many hands makes light work and more fun.
Other ways to keep the watershed healthy:
- Get involved with a field naturalist group – our is the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists
- Plant shrubs and trees on your shoreline
- Conserve water
- Keep livestock away from water bodies
- Maintain septic systems and wells
- Don’t litter and never throw or dump waste into the river
