Managing Aquatic Vegetation on the Rideau
Canal
The following is adapted from a brochure published by Friends of the Rideau and Parks Canada. This has been posted for information purposes only, please contact the Rideau Canal Office of Parks Canada for the latest guidelines and a permit application form.
What is this Vegetation?
Aquatic plants in the waters of the Rideau Canal are an important part of a natural aquatic ecosystem, especially in the ecology of shoreline areas. They provide habitat for fish to spawn, feed and hide from predators. Aquatic plants also play a key role in maintaining and improving the water quality of the Rideau Canal.
Excessive plant growth can interfere with boating, swimming and other recreational water activities, and at times, some control may be necessary.
What is Parks Canada Doing?
Parks Canada clears the navigation channel of excessive aquatic plants, conducts research and monitoring of aquatic plants, advises landowners of best practices and issues permits to waterfront owners to allow the selective clearing of aquatic plants in front of their properties.
What Can I Do?
A significant contributor to excessive aquatic plant growth is the addition of nutrients to waters of the Rideau Canal through activities such as fertilizing and the “hardening” of shorelines. Landowners within the Rideau Canal watersheds can play a significant role in reducing excessive aquatic plant growth by controlling these activities.
Removing Vegetation
If you wish to remove aquatic plants from your property you will require a permit from Parks Canada.
About Aquatic Vegetation
Aquatic plants are a natural part of the Rideau’s ecosystem. There are many types of plants including tape grass, coontail, bulrushes, milfoil, pondweed, bladderwort, frogbit, duckweed, and water lily. Many are native to the waters of the Rideau but some, such as Eurasian Watermilfoil, are invasive plants, introduced several decades ago to the Rideau Canal.
Many species of animals such as fish (ie. bass and pike), birds (i.e. loons, herons, blackbirds, ducks, marsh wrens, least bitterns), frogs, turtles and muskrats need these plants to survive. Some of these are “species at risk” (i.e. least bitterns and stink pot turtles).
These plants play an important role in maintaining and improving water quality by stabilizing sediments and absorbing many harmful pollutants.
Excessive aquatic plant growth is due to a number of factors both natural and human induced. These include:
- Nutrient run-off, primarily phosphorus, into Rideau Canal waters.
- Cutting but not removing vegetation from the water (i.e. shoreline cutting, boat propellers). This spreads aquatic vegetation since cuttings will actually re-root.
- Introduction of zebra mussels.
An example of a relatively recent ecosystem change is the introduction of zebra mussels to the Rideau Canal. These mussels have increased water clarity and filtered out small algae, allowing a filamentous green alga (Spirogyra), which zebra mussels cannot filter, to explode in number, creating large “green blobs” in the water. The increase in water clarity due to zebra mussels has also allowed aquatic plants to appear in deeper water.
The Role of Parks Canada
Parks Canada has been cutting and removing excessive aquatic vegetation from the navigation channel for many years.
It owns mechanical harvesting equipment and operates a program of aquatic plant removal at 20 different locations on the Rideau Canal. The River Styx and downtown Ottawa are the two main problem areas on the Rideau Canal.
Parks Canada continues to contribute to aquatic plant research and monitoring along the Rideau Canal. Scientific knowledge of plant growth trends is a great help in developing more efficient vegetation management programs.
Parks Canada advises waterfront residents on best practices that will help to manage aquatic plant growth.
Parks Canada issues permits for aquatic plant removal. A permit is required prior to any removal of aquatic vegetation.
What You Can Do
Everyone living within the Rideau Canal watersheds can play a large role in controlling the growth of aquatic plants. The run-off of nutrients into Rideau waters is the single greatest contributing factor to excessive plant growth.
How you can help to control this:
- Leave (or replant) a minimum three metre buffer of natural vegetation along the shoreline to absorb nutrients before they hit the water.
- Do not use garden chemicals.
- Implementing a rural best management program to reduce nutrient/bacteria runoff from agricultural lands.
- Maintain your septic system in good running order (regular pump-outs and maintain the leaching bed/system).
- Do not “harden” (i.e. pavement, gravel) any near shoreline areas. This increases direct runoff which degrades water quality.
- Encourage the upgrade of municipal sewage systems and stormwater retention.
If you wish to remove aquatic vegetation from the Rideau Canal, you will require a permit from Parks Canada.
Please note that the use of chemicals
for aquatic plant control is
STRICTLY PROHIBITED
The Permit Process
Should a waterfront owner wish to remove aquatic vegetation from in front of their property, a permit from Parks Canada is required. This permit is valid for five (5) years and may be obtained by contacting the Rideau Canal Office of Parks Canada.
Listed below are some conditions of the permit:
- The fee for the 5 year permit, current as of 2015, is $52.50.
- The contractor/landowner is to make all reasonable attempts to harvest and remove the cut aquatic vegetation from the water, and place it upland well above the high water mark.
- In general, no work will be permitted between March 15th and June 30th (fish spawning time).
- If property shoreline is greater than 75 feet (22.9 m), maximum width allowable for weed cut is 50 feet (15.2 m) x 100 feet (30.5 m) out from shore.
- If property shoreline is less than 75 feet (22.9 m), maximum width allowable for weed cut is 26 feet (7.9 m) x 100 feet (30.5 m) out from shore.
For a full listing of the conditions of the permit please view the
Rideau Canal Aquatic Vegetation Removal Permit Guidelines
For more information please contact:
Parks Canada - Rideau Canal
34 Beckwith St. South,
Smiths Falls, ON K7A 2A8
Tel: 613-283-5170
Toll Free: 1-888-773-8888
email: RideauCanal-info@pc.gc.ca |
It’s The Law
The protection of fish habitat is provided for in the federal Fisheries Act. Violations of this law can result in substantial fines and/or the risk of imprisonment
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Download, view or print the brochure in Adobe PDF format:
Managing Aquatic Vegetation on the Rideau Canal (144K PDF)
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