News

Camping season opens May 1, 2022

It may not look like it outside, but the 2022 camping season is just around the corner and the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) campsite reservation system will be open to take reservations online beginning March 15, 2022 at 8:00 a.m.

The reservation system at www.grcacamping.ca provides a 24-hour, online reservation service until mid-October, when the camping season closes.

The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) will invest almost $35 million this year on programs that protect life and minimize property damage from flooding and erosion, improve the health of the Grand River watershed, connect people to the environment through outdoor experiences and manage its land holdings responsibly and sustainably.

The budget was approved by the GRCA board on Friday, February 25, 2022. 

Chris White, Mayor of Guelph-Eramosa Township and Councillor in Wellington County, and Sue Foxton, Mayor of North Dumfries Township, have been acclaimed, continuing their roles as Chair and Vice-Chair of the Grand River Conservation Authority.

Both White and Foxton were acclaimed by the GRCA Board of Directors at the General Membership meeting on Friday, January 28. 

The public trails adjacent to the Speed River, between Victoria Road North and the Guelph Lake Dam, will be closed beginning Thursday January 13, 2022 for the purpose of improving trail accessibility. Construction is expected to be complete by early to mid-March, weather dependent. 

On November 24, 2021, the Grand River Conservation Authority hosted its 10^th annual workshop for wastewater professionals throughout the Grand River watershed. Held virtually once again this year, the Grand River Watershed-wide Wastewater Optimization Program (WWOP) workshop is an opportunity for municipal wastewater professionals to share best practices in wastewater treatment. 

The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) is undertaking tree maintenance along the Elora Cataract Trailway in Wellington County over the next six weeks. The work will result in intermittent closures of sections of the trail during this time. The first closure, between Gartshore Street and Belwood Lake will occur between December 2-17.

As temperatures get cooler and winter approaches, residents in the northern portions of the Grand River watershed still have an opportunity to plan for a living snow fence project next spring. 

The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) and Dufferin County support living snow fence tree planting projects in priority locations along county roads.

What to look for and how to stay safe when a bloom occurs

Hot August days are great for spending time outdoors, but also create the perfect conditions for algae to grow and bloom in large bodies of water like the Grand River Conservation Authority’s (GRCA) Belwood, Conestogo, Guelph, and Woolwich reservoirs.

Algae thrive on nutrients from fields and lawns that find their way into local waterways and reservoirs during heavy rainfall and spring melts and cause their populations to grow rapidly, forming blooms or scum on the surface of the water.

Despite higher than normal precipitation across much of the Grand River watershed in June and July, groundwater and river base flow levels are still low due to the extremely dry spring. As a result, water users throughout the watershed are asked to continue to reduce their consumption by 10 per cent until conditions improve.

Cover crops grown over winter are just the right thing to do, according to some local producers who participated in the Grand River Conservation Authority’s (GRCA) Rural Water Quality Program (RWQP).  The program offers a per acre incentive to farmers in the Region of Waterloo, Haldimand, Dufferin, Brant, Wellington Counties, and in Perth County within the Nith River watershed.