EXETER — The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) is spearheading a $1.4 million project with the hope of creating a model for rural stormwater management in the next two years.
Four other conservation authorities and 22 total partners are linked to the project, which will be helped by a $700,000 provincial grant announced Dec. 20 at the ABCA administration building near Exeter.
Remaining funds will come from project partners, according to ABCA general manager Tom Prout.
Partners include landowners, provincial and federal ministries, county departments and environmental agencies, according to the ABCA website.
It’s believed the model will be the first of its kind in Ontario and could be applied to other parts of the province.
“The fact is that we don’t yet have a comprehensive approach to rural stormwater management,” said London West MPP Chris Bentley in a speech at the funding announcement.
“This initiative over the next several years will enable all to develop that, and once it’s developed it'll be a model not just for Ontario, I suspect, but for places beyond the borders.”
According to the ABCA website, the model will improve knowledge of how agricultural and rural drainage function in a rural landscape.
The project is expected to gather, “more detailed and precise information on how to manage any stormwater impact during spring time and heavy rainfall events,” the website states.
“This increased understanding will guide new stewardship projects designed to effectively reduce and manage run-off.”
Through the project, five new water-monitoring stations will be introduced in an area that stretches from Sarnia to Tobermory.
The stations will be located in five priority watersheds: Pine River, North Shore, North Bayfield, Main Bayfield and Lambton Shores.
ABCA board of directors chairperson Jim Ginn of Central Huron also spoke at the Dec. 20 funding announcement, saying farmers want to be part of the solution.
“They don’t want to be part of the problem, and we need these detailed studies in order to understand all the happenings on the watersheds — how the water works and how it does in fact get into our streams and ditches,” he said.
Ginn added later that with new information gained from this initiative, “stewardship dollars can be invested strategically where they have the most environmental impact.
“I think that’s a very important part,” he said. “There are millions of dollars put into stewardship in Ontario every year, and we’ve got to make sure that we’re getting a bang for our buck, and the best bang that we can get.”
ABCA water and planning manager Alec Scott noted in an interview that urban areas have paved driveways, paved roads, curbs, gutters, storm sewers and other features.
“We know how to deal with all those details,” he said. “On the rural landscape you’ve got your natural streams, you've got fields with crops in them.
“You still have some pavement, but it’s certainly nothing like what you have in an urban area … you have fence bottoms, grass ditches along the sides of the roads, you have low wet areas, that type of thing.
“We know all the components but we don’t have a mathematical model that is detailed enough to tell us, ‘If we had money to create a wetland, should we put it on John Smith’s farm, or should we put it on Ralph James’ farm?’   
“That’s the thing that’s kind of missing. We know that putting in a wetland is a good thing, but just because there are limited dollars … we would like to be able to say what benefit would we get if we put it in this location as opposed to another location.”
Work on the project is expected to begin in January.