The five creeks in Niagara on the Lake that flow into Lake Ontario are monitored by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA). The 2018 NPCA report card on the conditions and water quality of the creeks in NOTL gives poor grades of D (Poor) or F (Very Poor) for the water quality and other measurements of NOTL creeks.
Most creeks that flow into Lake Ontario in the Niagara peninsula were named based on the distance from the mouth of the Niagara River. In NOTL, these are:
- Eight Mile Creek
- Six Mile Creek
- Four Mile Creek
- Two Mile Creek
- One Mile Creek
NPCA role
The role of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) is to evaluate the quality of local watersheds and provide that information to the public in order to measure environmental change, improve local knowledge, focus natural resource management actions where they are needed most, and motivate action in the watershed. Since 2005, the NPCA and its partners have produced report cards to inform its residents on the overall health of the Niagara Peninsula watershed.
Poor grades in 2018 watershed report
The 2018 Watershed Report Card is part of an initiative by conservation authorities to evaluate key indicators of watershed health with guidelines and grading system provided by Conservation Ontario.
Commenting on the low grades in the 2018 report card, NPCA says: “These grades are typical of watersheds in Southern Ontario. The good news is that the Niagara Peninsula watershed scored well with respect to groundwater quality, and the amount of wetland cover within its area, but there is still some work to do regarding the quality of surface water and forest cover.”
The NPCA is expected to work with many local, provincial and federal partnerships with governments, other agencies, landowners, and residents to plan and deliver watershed management programs that strive to keep the Niagara Peninsula watershed healthy.
[Click the image below to view and/or download a PDF version of the 2018 report.]
Water quality reports
NPCA completes monthly sampling and testing at some surface water stations and groundwater wells across the Niagara watershed. Surface water samples are tested for numerous parameters, including ecoli, nitrates and lead. Groundwater sample tests include nutrients, metals and bacteria.
The reports for One Mile Creek are included in the section of the annual report on water quality.
The 2017 report is available to be read or downloaded below:
2012 detailed report on NOTL creeks
The 2012 report card on the conditions and water quality of the NOTL creeks is the most recent detailed report from the NPCA.
[Click the image below to view and/or download a PDF version of the 2012 report.]