2021

Project Objectives:

Twelve Mile Creek rises from springs in the town of Fonthill and flows north, eventually entering Lake Ontario at Port Dalhousie. The Upper Twelve is a cold aquatic system capable of sustaining a population of native Brook Trout. Near its source, the stream runs along the eastern border of the Lathrop Nature Preserve, owned, and maintained by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), which supplies several spring-fed tributaries to the creek. NCC is in the process of improving the flow of these tributaries by removing or reducing two online ponds (former quarries) on its property.

Adjacent to the Lathrop Preserve, the main branch of the stream is dammed to form a pond that once serviced a cannery. This large pond serves to warm the entire system due to prolonged exposure of the surface water to the sun. Warmed surface water spills over the dam (there is no control structure) into the creek. NPCA sensors above and below the pond reveal the dramatic extent to which the pond adds heat and deteriorates the quality of the stream water. NPCA acknowledges the detrimental effect of this pond on the entire Upper Twelve Mile Creek watershed but has concluded that removal or breaching of the dam would release tonnes of accumulated sediment into the creek. The Niagara Chapter of TUC has a very close relationship with the NPCA and has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Authority to further our co-operation on projects. Our relationship with NCC is also close, as NCC has consulted with us on their work to improve the tributaries in the Lathrop Preserve.

The ideal solution to this situation is to reduce or remove the pond to allow the creek channel to return to its natural state. An alternative may be to bypass the pond with a channel to the west (Lathrop property). In its current configuration, the pond is also a liability because of the age of the dam.

For the purpose of this grant application, we are requesting funds to purchase a multiparameter sonde that we will use to monitor water quality (dissolved oxygen levels, pH, temperature, conductivity, and ammonia) over the course of the multi year project.