Channelization increases the impact of water events on streams and can generate floods. Channelization and tiling of fields is important to agriculture and is unavoidable. Maintenance of agricultural drains should occur when the impact on fish that might utilize them is limited, such as the dead of summer.

Livestock in waterways cause a multitude of issues, erosion, nutrient loading and pollution. When livestock access waterways they erode banks and trample the vegetation holding back the banks. Livestock defecate in the water nutrient loading it causing algae blooms and polluting the water. To keep livestock out of waterways fences need to be put up to prevent their access, because livestock in waterways damage ecosystems downstream.

Ensuring impact during maintenance is limited by selecting a time were waters are low and fish use of the channels is negligible.

Livestock need to be kept out of waterways a fence is the best solution, if livestock need to cross the water a bridge or other structure while deleterious has less impact than animals in Canadian waterways.