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The weather system that swept across Southern Ontario on Wednesday evening caused significant damage to trees at Elora Gorge Conservation Area. As a result, the property has been closed to day-use access and new overnight camping reservations until further notice. 

As the hot, dry summer weather continues, water users throughout the Grand River watershed are now being asked to cut their consumption by 20 per cent.

Between mid-June and mid-July, the watershed received approximately 25 per cent of the normal amount of precipitation for that period. 

Fifteen years ago, a 100-acre parcel of land was chosen near Guelph Lake Conservation Area, destined to become the home of the Guelph Lake Rotary Forest. Through annual Earth Day community planting events, this parcel of land has grown into a forest inspired by the vision of the late Dr. Clare Rennie, Rotary Club of Guelph President in 2005-2006, who first proposed the idea to the Grand River Conservation Authority in 2007.

Water users throughout the Grand River watershed are being asked to cut their consumption by 10 per cent, because of the unusually dry weather this year.

Low rainfall since April has contributed to reduced stream flows in a number of tributaries throughout the watershed, and the Grand River Conservation Authority is using its large upstream reservoirs to augment river flows in order to maintain low flow targets on the Grand and Speed rivers.

Cover crop funding has been available to farmers in the counties of Brant, Dufferin, Haldimand, Waterloo, and Wellington for many years through municipally funded Rural Water Quality Programs (RWQP). The program, administered by the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA), has provided over 400 producers with financial incentives to introduce cover crops on more than 30,000 acres in the Grand River watershed.

Elora Quarry Conservation Area will once again use an online ticketing system this season when it opens for day-use access beginning June 10. The system, first introduced in 2021, will help manage attendance at the popular attraction and create an improved visitor experience for those accessing the property.

The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) is undertaking a Flood Damage Assessment Study for the communities of Grand Valley, Waldemar and Drayton, thanks to a $78,000 grant from the federal National Disaster Mitigation Program (NDMP). The NDMP grant will contribute up to 50 per cent of the project’s funding, with the remaining amount to be funded through the GRCA’s land sale reserves. 

Update (May 26, 2022): The Cambridge to Paris Rail Trail, Brantford to Hamilton Rail Trail, and Elora-Cataract Trailway have reopened.

Update (May 23, 2022): Pinehurst Lake Conservation Area has reopened, however some areas of the property remain closed to the public while clean-up continues.

Grants are available to support homeowners and farmers in the Grand River watershed who are interested in well projects on their property.

“Wells need to be maintained properly and tested regularly in order to provide safe drinking water, and to protect groundwater resources” says Louise Heyming, Supervisor of Conservation Outreach at the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA).

The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA), in partnership with local municipalities, supports farmers who want to help improve and protect water quality in the Grand River watershed. The GRCA’s Rural Water Quality Program (RWQP), funded by Wellington, Brant, Oxford, Haldimand and Dufferin counties, and the Region of Waterloo, supports projects that help producers make their farms more resilient, while helping improve downstream water quality.