The Town of Drayton Valley is learning what it can do better to help out the North Saskatchewan Watershed.
At the March 2 meeting of Drayton Valley town council, a presentation was received from Mary Ellen Shain of the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance.
Shain was updating council on their latest project, the Riparian Health Action Plan.
The riparian area of a watershed is the transition area between a body of water and the land. These areas help improve water quality by trapping sediments, mitigating floods by reducing erosion, and help providing habitats for fish.
Under the action plan, the Alliance has been studying the 17,000km of riparian areas in the North Saskatchewan Watershed. Their goal is to get 65 per cent of the riparian areas to a healthy status.
Shain reported that throughout the entire watershed, only 46 per cent is considered healthy. In the parts of the watershed that are in Drayton Valley’s town limits, 59 per cent is considered healthy, with two of Drayton’s six creeks at 65 per cent.
Councillor Rick Evans was intrigued by the report, and wanted to know if riparian health was the Alliance’s top priority right now.
Shain responded that the Alliance likes to help out where it can. In addition to riparian health, they are also working on a number of projects including wetlands management and storm water management. When it comes to riparian health, Shain said the feedback they got from municipalities was that this is an area where they can help.
Evans also wanted to know what, as an urban municipality, the town could look at improving.
Shain highlighted that stormwater management is a big one, along with road salt management, as the salt used on roads does eventually find its way into the water system. But Shain said that perhaps the biggest issue is developing a more reciprocal relationship with Brazeau County in managing how the North Saskatchewan River flows through their municipalities.
Mayor Nancy Dodds noted the Town will be updating its Municipal Development Plan this year, and will most likely seek the Alliance’s input.
You can learn more about riparian areas by checking out the Alliance’s special riparian web portal, www.riparian.info.
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