Formed in 1951, the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority is committed to working with our community partners to create a healthier environment. Our area of jurisdiction covers the watershed, or drainage area, of the Maitland, Nine Mile and Eighteen Mile Rivers, along with smaller watersheds on the Lake Huron shoreline.
Mission
Maitland Conservation is a community based organization dedicated to providing leadership to protect and enhance local water, forests and soil.
Who We Are
- Maitland Conservation is jointly owned by its member municipalities.
- Conservation Authorities are established by the provincial government at the request of municipalities.
- Our activities are driven by local municipalities, landowners and community organizations. We are committed to providing effective community-based conservation services in a cost efficient manner.
Services and Priorities
Flood and Erosion Safety Services
Key Functions:
1. Regulation of activities in hazardous areas to prevent the loss of life and reduce property damage due to flooding and erosion.
2. Flood forecasting
3. Assisting municipalities with flood and erosion emergency preparedness.
Current Priorities:
- Update of shoreline hazard mapping. This will improve the accuracy of erosion risk information and assist staff with identifying any changes required to our development and stormwater management policies.
- North Perth Floodplain Update Project – partnering with the Municipality of North Perth to update floodplain mapping which will improve the flood forecast modelling for the area.
- Create and implement a public awareness strategy about the Maitland Conservation’s development regulation. The intent of the strategy is to improve understanding about the risks of developing or altering floodplains, river valleys, shoreline areas, wetlands and watercourses.
- Develop a local climate trends and impacts information strategy for Maitland Conservation’s Directors, staff and member municipalities.
Watershed Stewardship Services
Key Functions:
1. Assist municipalities and landowners to manage rural stormwater and to develop soil and water conservation systems (reforestation, berms, grassed waterways etc.) that will reduce damage to drainage infrastructure and reduce the loss of soil and nutrients from agricultural land.
Current Priorities
- Identify areas at high risk for runoff and erosion. Develop strategies to encourage landowners in these areas to adopt conservation practices.
- Find ways to increase support to extension activities and priority projects.
- Complete the Forest Health Assessment and work with partners to determine how to move forward on improving the health of local woodlots.
Conservation Area Services
Key Functions:
1. The management of 28 Conservation Areas encompassing 4,600 acres including wetlands, floodplains and river valley areas. These areas range from urban day-use parks to provincially significant environmental sites.
Current Priorities
- Reforestation of marginal land at Conservation Areas.
- Initiate the development of a Conservation Areas land use strategy and land inventory.
- Work with the Municipality of North Perth on the leasing of Galbraith Conservation Area and community partners on the severance and disposition of the Logan Mill in Brussels.
Corporate Services
Current Priorities
- Development of a Watershed Strategy. This is a regulatory requirement that will outline watershed issues and how Maitland Conservation plans to address them.
- Finalize a MOU for services and programs with the Township of Wellington North. MOUs are in place for our other 14 municipalities.
- Update three-year work plan and budget and levy requirements needed for the work identified.
What is Resiliency?
The key overall priority for Maitland Conservation is building watershed resiliency to reduce flooding and soil erosion and to improve water quality. Resilience refers to the ability of the watershed to absorb the impacts of disturbances such as climate change, drought, flooding, pests and invasive species while still having healthy forests, rivers and soil.
Our focus on resiliency is based on a review of local climate trends. This analysis indicates that climate change is having adverse impacts on the watershed and the magnitude of these impacts is expected to increase. Local climate data shows:
- A change in precipitation patterns to more intense scattered thunderstorms.
- Despite this increase in thunderstorms, total annual precipitation has been declining over the past 40 years,
- Fewer days below freezing which may result in more winter precipitation falling as rain instead of snow.