Decision on Rideau Lakes Ward and Council Review
At the meeting held on January 3rd, TRL council approved changes to the size of council and the number of wards. These changes are based on the second option presented in the consultant's report. Changes include:
Council will be reduced from 10 members to 9. The new council structure will include 8 councillors and a mayor.
The number of wards will be reduced from 5 to 4. Newboro will be merged with North Crosby to form a new Ward called "North Crosby-Newboro". There was no action taken to modify any of the other wards.
The 8 councillors will continue to be elected by ward with 2 councillors representing each of the 4 wards.
The Mayor will continue to be elected at large.
The decision is subject to a 45-day Appeal Period to the Ontario Municipal Board, and will take affect for the 2018 municipal elections.
Full details are available on the Township of Rideau Lakes website.
Parks Canada delaying new management plan decision another year
Parks Canada has been working on a new management plan for the Rideau Canal for several years, and recently announced its target date for completion will be extended to March 2018. As part of setting a new long-term strategic vision for the canal, this delay will allow Parks Canada to conduct more public consultation than originally planned, including additional open houses and the release of a draft plan for public discussion.
For details, click here to read a letter from John Festarini, the Associate Director for Ontario Waterways. And for reaction to this decision, click here to read a recent Ottawa Sun article.
Luxury boat rental company "Le Boat" to launch operations along Rideau Canal
Parks Canada announced today that the Le Boat company is planning to begin operations along the Rideau Canal in 2018. As we advised in a May 27th website update, the BRLA has been engaged with Parks Canada for the past year as this project has moved forward. We welcome today’s announcement believing it will bring significant economic benefits to the lake community and expect minimal impact to the quality of life we all enjoy on the Big Rideau Lake. For those of you who remember the 3 Buoys Houseboat/Party boat fiasco in the 80’s, this is very different.
According to a Le Boat company press release, the details of this plan include:
- An investment of CA$16 million in base infrastructure, along the length of the canal from Ottawa to Kingston.
- Le Boat's base to be located on the Parks Canada grounds in Smiths Fall.
- A fleet of 16 Horizon cruisers, which are low speed keel boats (10 kph maximum speed) with added handling and navigational features (bow thruster & GPS).
- All boat renters required to complete an orientation course provided by the company before setting out.
- The fleet planned to expand to at least 32 cruises over the next five years.
- Booking will begin in spring 2017, with the boating season officially launching in May 2018 and running through October every year.
This venture is part of a collaboration to attract investors among Parks Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport as well as various municipal partners. The benefits Parks Canada see include increasing tourism to the Rideau Canal (both on land and on water), providing more opportunities for visitors without boats, increasing the number of international visitors, and encouraging economic development and support job creation along the Rideau Canal.
We will continue to monitor this development as talks continue, and will keep our members informed as we learn more. For the full text of the Le Boat announcement, click here. And for details about the Le Boat company, please see their website.
Parks Canada notice re: work at Narrows Lock
During the week of November 28th, 2016, Parks Canada will begin heritage masonry work at Narrows Lock 35 on the Rideau Canal National Historic Site. The repairs for this project will include stone replacement, grouting and repointing to ensure the continued structural integrity and functionality of the lock.
Citizens can expect intermittent delays and nightly closures of County Road 14 at Narrows Swing Bridge between December 12th, 2016 and December 23rd, 2016. The alternate vehicle route around Upper Rideau Lake is North Shore Road to Highway 10 by traveling south on Highway 10 to Highway 42. Highway 42 will take you south-east into Crosby. Signage will be posted on County Road 14 communicating the delays and alternate routes.
Click here for more details about this project and other ongoing work along the Rideau Canal.
CP Holiday Train rolling through Perth this weekend
CP's annual Holiday Train program is a rolling fundraising event that travels across Canada and the United States raising money, food and awareness for food banks and hunger issues, hosting free holiday concerts along the way.
Every pound of food and dollar raised at each stop stays with the local food bank to help feed those in need in that community. Since its launch in 1999, the program has raised more than $12 million and 3.9 million pounds of food for communities along CP’s routes in Canada and the northern U.S.
The train will be rolling through Perth on Sunday November 27th. The night starts at 6:40 pm with singing and carolling; the train is expected to pass through about 8:00 pm.
For additional information, visit http://www.cpr.ca/holiday-train, or follow on Facebook (www.facebook.com/holidaytrain), Twitter (@CPHolidayTrain) or Instagram (@CPHolidayTrain).
Parks Canada Notice re: Work at Poonamalie Dam
Parks Canada Press Release - "During the week of November 7th, 2016, investigative drilling and surveying will take place at Poonamalie Lock 32 on the Rideau Canal National Historic Site. This investigative work will inform the design of the upcoming heritage stone masonry rehabilitation project scheduled to begin in fall 2017.
Parks Canada will be dewatering the lock to allow for a detailed inspection of the lock and surrounding area. Surveying will be completed to identify the surface features and the depth of the water at the site. Additionally, small vertical boreholes will be drilled just outside of the lock adjacent to the approach walls to determine the subsurface conditions. These inspections are integral to the development of the design and the scope of the upcoming construction work."
Township of Rideau Lakes Meetings on Council and Ward Structure Review
Several meetings will be held this month as part of the ongoing council and ward structure review:
Monday, November 14 at 5:30pm at Portland Community Hall, 24 Water Street. The consulting firm StrategyCorp will be presenting their Report regarding Council and Ward Structure Review.
Tuesday, November 29 at 4pm at Rideau Centennial Elementary School, 2761 Hwy 15, Portland. Council will hear delegations regarding Council and Ward Structure. Anyone wishing to address Council on this matter must contact the Clerk, Mary Ellen Truelove at 1-800-928-2250 Ext 293 or mtruelove@twprideaulakes.on.ca.
RVCA Drought Update
A message from RVCA's Senior Water Resources Technician, Patrick Larson:
I have meant to put together a summary of conditions in the watershed for awhile but have held off because I wanted to be able to report on a meeting the Conservation Authorities in Severe drought had asked for with Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Unfortunately, it has taken longer than anticipated to come together and is now scheduled for the November 14th. So, a summary now and a report on the meeting after the 14th.
An average of 15.4 millimeters of rain fell in the first two weeks of October. An average of 75.4 mm fell in the next six days, most of that on the 20th through the 22nd. The good points about this rain event were that it was well distributed over the watershed and wasn’t intense rain that could have overwhelmed urban drainage systems. However, while there has been some rain since, it has not been enough to sustain flows so most streams have again declined. There needs to be enough regular rainfall to fill the wetlands and saturate the soil before streams can reach and stay close to historical averages. Now, as streamflows decline, the pattern of disconnected pools is occurring again. A concern is that what aquatic populations are left, after struggling to survive in the warm water, low oxygen and shrinking pools through the summer, are now faced with shallow pools that are going to freeze possibly solid.
Lakes in the watershed have also had increased levels from the rain with the reservoir lakes rising closer to targets. Bobs Lake is actually above target after a summer that was a trial for boaters as the water got lower and lower. The other three reservoir lakes are all below the respective targets. To put a bit of a positive spin on what has passed, there was water throughout the summer in all watershed lakes, just not what residents have been used to. Some farmers have had quite good crops from soybeans to apples. We have had only limited contact with people who have had their wells go dry and do not know what the present status is.
To close, with flows falling again, there is really no change in the rationale for the Severe Drought status that flows and levels have not been restored to normal. The one outlier is Kemptville Creek that received over 100 mm of rain and had levels at the Oxford Mills Dam rise a metre to summer target levels, just in time for the adjustment to winter levels. Flows have not declined as much as the rest of the watershed so, technically, that sub-watershed could have the drought status raised but it might be prudent to leave it and the rest of the Rideau watershed in Severe status so as to avoid confusion if conditions decline further.
Contact: 613-692-3571 or 1-800-267-3504 ext. 1210