Trent University stream monitoring project supported by local partners

JULY 26, 2022 – A stream monitoring project led by members of Trent University’s Environmental Geoscience Research Group is now underway in the Kawartha Lakes with support and funding from the City of Kawartha Lakes and Kawartha Conservation.

Lead by the Trent School of Environment associate director, Dr. Catherine Eimers, and Trent Water Sciences student Joseph Gentile, the project studies Janetville Creek, Sucker Creek, and Stoney Creek to identify key areas along the creeks for future restoration projects.

The City of Kawartha Lakes and Kawartha Conservation have committed $14,050 to the project to enhance the monitoring of the streams while assisting in Trent University’s experiential learning program, allowing Gentile to conduct the study alongside watershed monitoring professionals. 

“Supporting this project was an easy decision because it helps Kawartha Conservation learn more about the health of the creeks and what can be done to protect them,” said Tanner Liang, Kawartha Conservation’s Water Quality Specialist. “Projects like these are very useful for measuring how specific ecosystems have changed over time, so the work of Dr. Eimers and Joseph Gentile will help make a long-lasting impact on our watershed.” 

Gentile began monitoring the creeks in May 2022, and will continue to collect data on water quality, high and low flow events, nutrient levels, and more until November 2022. When the sampling period concludes, he will shift his focus to analyzing and summarizing the data, providing restoration recommendations, and producing a research thesis for May 2023.

“Streams are the ‘veins’ of a watershed, and stream monitoring is a bit like blood testing – it gives us a rapid sense of the health of a system and where we need to target management efforts,” said Dr. Eimers, whose research focuses on the impacts of climate and land use change on soil and water resources. “With the help of Kawartha Conservation, we are using targeted stream sampling to gain insight into the factors affecting water quality within several key watersheds.”

“I’m really excited about this project because I’m getting experience in all facets of water quality research, from project design to field and laboratory analysis, to data interpretation,” said Gentile, who is completing honours thesis research focused on this study.  “I’ve already learned so much from working with Kawartha Conservation.”

This project contributes to Kawartha Conservation’s three-year (2022 – 2024) Investigative Upstream Monitoring program that aims to reduce data gaps and establish restoration options for creeks and streams in the Kawartha Lakes, Durham and surrounding regions.

To learn more about the project or schedule an interview, contact Celia Grimbly, Communications & Media Relations Officer at Trent University, by email at celiagrimbly@trentu.ca or by phone at 705-748-1011 ext. 6180.

For more information on Kawartha Conservation’s contributions to the project, contact Tanner Liang by email or by phone at 705-328-2271 ext. 228.