Peel Water Story Project Case Study

Project title:
Sawmill Creek water quality monitoring

Have you participated at the Peel EcoFair?
Yes

School(s)/Community Group(s):
Woodland Secondary School and Citizens’ Environment Watch

School Board/Organization(s):
Peel District School Board

Community /Town/ City :
Mississauga

Your Project is located within which (sub)watershed/s?
Sawmill Creek subwatershed; Credit River watershed

Start Date: 2003

Project abstract
Since the Fall 2003, Woodland Secondary’s Grade 12 students have been participating in the Changing Currents program offered by the Citizens ' Environment Watch (CEW), a non-profit organization dedicated to environmental education, ecological monitoring, and building community capacity to engage in informed decision-making and action for improved human and ecological health. This is a hands-on program that engages youth in exploring and protecting their local environment. Through Changing Currents, the youth at Woodlands collect data that is used to determine water quality in a stretch of the Sawmill Creek near their school.

The project involves trips down to pre-selected locations along Sawmill Creek, a small tributary in this area that flows into the Credit River . The task there was to sieve through the water, and by way of observing the variety and quantity of benthic macro-invertebrates, determine the quality of the creek water.

Project outcomes
Woodland students participated in CEW’s 8 to 10-week curriculum-linked project in order to learn about water quality by collecting collect benthos (or macro-invertebrates: small animals without backbones that live on the bottom of lakes ponds, rivers, streams and wetlands). These creatures are then analyzed by students and the resulting data is interpreted with the help of teachers and CEW’s volunteer Monitoring Mentors.

Using CEW’s monitoring protocol provided the students with scientifically defensible data, which is used to gauge the water quality of Sawmill Creek. They tracked changes in the creek (positive and negative) over time. Because different groups of benthos survive under different conditions, the students used this data (the numbers and types of invertebrates found) to infer whether nutrient enrichment, chemical pollution, or other factors are present in the watercourse.

A major outcome of this ongoing project is increased awareness and behavioural change through investigative action. The data that we gathered was shocking: what looked like a perfectly healthy creek of clear blue water contained almost no variety in the types of macro-invertebrates. Those macro-invertebrates that were present (such as the aquatic worm and the midge) have high tolerance levels for pollution. All the observations and tests pointed to one thing – impaired water quality in the Sawmill Creek. And what are the effects of this?

For one thing, most of the tap water that we use on a daily basis comes from local watersheds. Water from tributaries like Sawmill Creek joins together with other rivers to end up in Lake Ontario . Chemical wastes that enter our rivers collect together and flow downstream to Lake Ontario , the source of our drinking water. Costly treatment is required before this water is distributed for human consumption.

This project really opened our eyes to the reality of our environment; looks really can be deceiving. Taking a stroll along a river, one would never suspect the poor quality of the water that is flowing right beside you, until they take a closer look at it. Sawmill Creek still has a long way to go before becoming healthy again, and although one class’s findings may not seem that important, they are a step in the right direction. We plan on continuing our steps as environmental stewards towards this creek, and hopefully, through the communication concerning the importance of our water system to the Peel public, make a difference.

Community Partnerships
Through this partnership with Citizen’s Environmental Watch we became aware of some serious environmental issues that were, literally, right in our own backyards. While everyone knows about the gradual global warming and the clear-cutting of the rainforests, none of these facts really hit us because they never influence us directly. However, working with CEW gave us a practical sense of what state our environment is really in.

Curriculum and water connections
At Woodlands, CEW’s water quality monitoring programs are integrated into the Grade 12 Science course and the Enhanced Learning Program.

Communication to the community/Media
During the autumns of both 2004 and 2005, Woodland Secondary students hosted information forums during the school’s Parents Night, when they presented their findings to attendees.

Students own feedback about project
Macro-invertebrates are relatively easy to spot with the naked eye and do not require complex scientific equipments or laboratory tests to monitor, thus resulting in inexpensive and easily-learnt monitoring techniques that are able to be performed by all. Most importantly however, is the fact that they are very sensitive to the levels of pollution in the water, and being at the bottom of the food chain for many important fish species, they give a clear indicator of the state of local ecosystem health and water quality.

The overall pollution of the water is a collective responsibility of the entire population of Peel. Pollution can never be eliminated altogether, but there are many ways to help decrease the amount of waste that goes into our water. There are steps that caring individuals can take to help make a difference. Some actions that you can take include:

• Preservation of the native forests around the creek can help eliminate sediments in the creek, help filter out pollutants, and limit erosion from the water.
• Create compost piles in the backyard to reduce the amounts of garbage being thrown out each week. Of the garbage thrown out, make sure that you have deposited Hazardous Household products by the proper means of bringing them to the local Community Recycling Centres instead of (illegally) pouring them down the drain or gutter.
• Use pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides sparingly, if at all, because these chemicals will be taken by runoff water into the closest creek, via storm drains.
• Conserve water.
• Take your car in for regular maintenance to check for oil leaks. Motor oil is very toxic to the purity of water, and even a small leak can have a large overall impact. As well, carpool whenever possible.
• Most importantly: Get involved and be informed. Peel offers many environmental programs to help save our natural ecosystem; don’t wait for someone else to do it for you.

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