Stormwater and snow melt runoff

Runoff control is one of the easiest and most important things one can do to lessen the negative impact their property might have on the river. Suggestions on how to accomplish this for minor storms has become readily available, the challenge is to now manage the 90th percentile storm using a control hierarchy that prioritizes managing rain where it falls through infiltration, evapotranspiration, and reuse.

Rain in the natural areas of Cantley's shoreline has little runoff – most rain is absorbed by soils or taken up by plants and returned to the atmosphere with minimum negative impact on the river. Asphalting one's driveway or road is not a very environmentally friendly solution for controlling runoff.

The ultimate goal is to mimic the property's natural hydrology and control precipitation as close as possible to where it falls by employing lot level and conveyance controls'

Cascades Creek Bay

A recent foot survey of the shoreline's littoral zone during the May 2017 reduction of water level in the river revealed what can happen when vegetation protection of the shoreline is diminished as in the case of a trail adjacent to Cascades Creek which was created in the early 1970s in anticipation of constructing a bridge across the river. Erosion has resulted in the bay area of the creek having extreme sedimentation which has destroyed normal hydrological and ecological functions of that section of the river.

"A" is up-river healthy shoreline from creek outfall, red line is approximate creek outflow as illustrated in below photo

Stumps in river indicates extent of forested area up until the dam was built in the late 1920s.

The mainly leda clay sediment from the trail erosion extends down river approx. 200 metres along the shoreline.

The big question for Cantley residents, especially those acting as shoreline stewards, is how will the environmental impact from the proposed new ski trails be minimized to avoid:

1. causing a similar sediment impact

2. having a negative water quality impact?

3. impacting mussels (one mussel can filter 38 litres/day)