Lower Peace Freshwater Contaminant Reduction
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We have completed earthworks and are working on the revegetaion of this watercourse. Taking the erosive power out of water involves slowing down water, leaving room for high flows, increasing the roughness of the channel and getting deep-rooted vegetation established. Obviously, soil is better on fields where it grow crops but the other advantage of reducing erosion is to reduce the amount of dirt getting into our rivers and lakes. Although dirt or sediment is a normal part of river or lakes too much of it causes a problem.
When a field looks like this...
People and our activities can have unwanted effects at a landscape level. The erosion in the photo is an example of changes in land use (wetland drainage, riparian zone removal, etc) that cause downstream impacts. So what we are seeing is the are the symptoms of landscape changes that affect how landscapes work and how water flows. So the work that we are doing here will be to restore some function to the landscape to reduce erosion. Functioning watersheds or landscapes move and store water with mechanisms that reduce the erosive power. We will see what we can do to help restore this function and another site for this project.
At one site of this project, we successfully installed a crossing on a stream in Mackenzie County working with a local producer. These crossings are simple but are the best of two worlds. It allows for easier movement of machinery and livestock over watercourses and so improves operational efficiency. On the other hand it reduces the amount of dirt going into the streams and rivers and reduces impacts to the riparian zone and channel from equipment or livestock trying to cross a stream.
This a project to promote improved land management so that producers can operate successfully and find support in implementing practices that will reduce the contaminant loading to the lower Peace River.
We are looking for landowners in Mackenzie County to partner with on improving land management practices so that fewer contaminants make it to the lower Peace River. Contaminants could be dirt, soil, hydrocarbons, salt, pesticides or nutrients.
Thank you!
We would like to thank Mackenzie County for being a great a partner in this project and for Environment and Climate Change Canada for contributing funding.
The views expressed herein are solely those of Mighty Peace Watershed Alliance Society.
Les opinions exprimées dans ce document sont celles de / de la / du / d’ / des Mighty Peace Watershed Alliance Society.