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A $420 million per year sustainable recreation sector
Protecting Lake Simcoe.
Lake Simcoe’s health is threatened by the extent and impacts of developments that are currently in place and planned for the watershed basin.
Why This Matters.
Lake Simcoe’s health is threatened by the extent and impacts of developments that are currently in place and planned for the watershed basin.
Phosphorus, an important fertilizer for agriculture that is used on lawns as well, is over-applied and makes its way into water ways and lakes, contributing to algae and weed growth.
The life-cycle of algae and weeds fed by excess phosphorus in water becomes supercharged, consuming so much oxygen that dead zones, or areas where there isn’t enough oxygen left for other species to survive, occur.
This impacts our prized cold water fish, Lake Trout and Whitefish, which are key components of the $420 million per year sustainable recreation sector centred on Lake Simcoe.
Cutting phosphorus loads in half, as targeted in the Lake Simcoe Protection Act and Plan is essential for maintaining lake health. Water quality is also impacted by warmer waters thanks to climate change (Lake Simcoe is a relatively shallow lake, making it more vulnerable to temperature changes in the surrounding environment), invasive species, and increasingly, road salt.
There has been no new coordination between municipalities, Regional governments and the province on water and wastewater servicing capacity around Lake Simcoe since 2011.
It is essential that municipalities advocate that the province do its job of maintaining environmental limits, overseeing and coordinating activity in the basin that affects the lake, and ensuring compliance with regulations meant to protect the lake.
Among many other pressures facing Lake Simcoe, as noted above, phosphorus run-off from farms and residential lawns is choking the life out of the aquatic ecosystem.
While the LSRCA states that phosphorus concentrations in the lake are around 7.5 µ/L. This is averaged Lake-wide, however, and this measure does not accurately show the fact that concentrations are far higher in some areas than in others.
This chart, using data from the Province’s Lake Simcoe Monitoring Program, shows that concentrations in the Holland River area greatly exceed levels considered safe for aquatic ecosystems.
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Did You Know…?
- The natural cover target for the Lake Simcoe watershed is 40%. Today only 21% of the watershed is covered by forests and wetlands that are well protected by provincial policy. Some of these areas are threatened by highway development pushed by the government of Ontario: the Bradford Bypass.
- Nearly 60% of the watershed is in natural cover, so we could protect enough, if there’s a will to do so. See https://rescuelakesimcoe.org/about-us/accomplishments/lake-simcoe-greenlands-project/ for more information about environmental policy mapping and natural heritage protection
- Phosphorus comes from many sources and is not easy to control:
This infographic from the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition shows where phosphorus loading in the Lake is coming from.
Following on the chart above, it should be noted that while Holland Marsh is an agricultural hot spot, it is also the headwaters of Lake Simcoe. Runoff from the development that has and continues to occur in the Bradford, Newmarket, Aurora corridor runs through this watercourse, and likely contributes significantly to the high loading shown in the H3, H4, and H6 test locations.
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What You Can Do As A Municipal Leader:
Municipal advocates for Lake Simcoe have and can continue to effect change and spur responsible development and rehabilitation by communicating with the province in coordination with other watershed municipalities. The Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition has and will continue to launch initiatives with this aim.
In the near term we need municipalities to ask the province to:
- Evaluate the impacts to Lake Simcoe of their planned doubling of the watershed population. It’s not just about sewage. Overland, stormwater, road building, salt impacts and reduction of natural heritage all chip away at the lake’s health.
- Stop the Brafford Bypass in its current location at least, and stop the Upper York Sewage “Solution” entirely.
- Municipalities should put money in the capital budget for improving stormwater control and maintenance, water infiltration over conveyance, and increased shading of streams and shoreline.
Local organizations that can help.
Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition
Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition
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