- Erosion Control and Rainwater Management
- Wetland Protection
- Protection of Banks, Littoral and Floodplains
EROSION CONTROL AND RAINWATER MANAGEMENT
Soil erosion, resulting chiefly from the action of water on bare soil, is one of the main factors causing water pollution. Once soil particles reach the water, they become sediments that settle at the bottom or remain suspended in water, deteriorating the health of lakes and water ways.
Erosion has considerable impact on the economy and the environment.
Economic Impact
- Loss of fertile soil and cost of its replacement
- Blocked culverts and storm sewers
- Increase in drinking water filtration costs
- Loss of swimming zones
Ecological Impact
- Decrease of water transparency
- Increase in water temperature
- Silting of lakes and excessive proliferation of algae and aquatic plants
- Destruction of spawning beds (fish reproduction zones)
- Death of fish through asphyxia
- Transport of toxic substances to waters
There are many simple, efficient and inexpensive methods to prevent erosion and to stop soil from reaching the water.These methods apply equally to construction, municipal, agricultural and forest sites, and so on:
- Preservation of existing vegetation and renaturalization
- Protection of bare soil
- Installation of sedimentation ponds and silt fences
- Use of the bottom third method for ditch maintenance
For more information on protection against erosion, check with Le RAPPEL.
WETLAND PROTECTION
What is a wetland?
Wetlands are sites saturated with water or inundated long enough to influence soil components and vegetation. A site nearly becomes an aquatic environment at times of floods, and almost a land environment at times of drought. There are four (4) main types of wetlands: the pond, the marsh, the swamp and the bog.
The importance of wetlands
Regardless of their poor reputation, wetlands are exceptional and useful ecosystems. They are an integral part of the hydrological cycle. Wetlands are beneficial as follows:
- Promote high biological productivity, providing essential habitats for hundreds of species of flora and fauna
- Are natural filters, absorbing pollutants and holding back sediments suspended in water
- Contribute to the renewal of ground water
- Act as sponges, absorbing water surplus, decreasing flood risk and bank erosion. They are a natural regulator
- Absorb and stock greenhouse effect gas
- Provide endless recreational and learning opportunities to people of all ages (hiking, fauna observation, camping, canoeing, waterfowl hunt, etc.)
Despite all ecological and economic value, wetland habitats continue to disappear. In some parts of the country, 70% of original wetlands have already been destroyed. That’s why it is so important to preserve them.
Under the Environment Quality Act, a request for authorization must be filed with the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks (MSDEP) prior to taking any action in a wetland. For more information on the preservation of wetlands, check the MSDEP site.
PROTECTION OF BANKS, LITTORAL AND FLOODPLAINS
Lakeshores, riverbanks, littoral zones and floodplains are critical to the survival of the ecological and biological components of watercourses and bodies of water. In keeping with its desire to grant them adequate, minimum protection, the Government of Québec adopted the Protection Policy for Banks, Littoral and Floodplains.
This Policy is an integral part of the Development Plan of the MRC as it is to any urban planning bylaw of all municipalities in Quebec. For more information, check the website of the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks.
For any questions pertaining to actions on the banks, littoral or floodplains (required procedures, constraints and authorizations, etc.) or to file a permit request, contact the Municipal Director at 819-428-3906 extension 225, before starting construction work or work of any kind. He is the person who will inform you of the applicable regulations.
You may want to check the following links
- Comité A.C.T.I.O.N.S. Rivage de Lac-Simon
- Organisme de bassins versants des rivières (OBV RPNS)
- Protection Policy for Banks, Littoral and Floodplains
- Protection des plans d'eau
- Le COBALI
- Le RAPPEL
- Regional Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development in Outaouais
You may want to see the following documents
- Les moules zébrées(test results for various lakes)
- Cartograhie des milieux humides