A new drinking water source protection plan for the Halls and Hawk lakes system has been completed and Algonquin Highlands deputy mayor, Jennifer Dailloux, believes the project could be scalable County-wide.
It’s a first-of-its-kind program in the Highlands, said Shelley Fellows, president of the Halls and Hawk Lakes Property Owners Association (HHLPOA). Commissioned with money provided by the Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations (FOCA), Fellows said the plan outlines several ways waterfront property owners could protect themselves and their lake.
A 60-page report with the tagline “protect every drop” was presented to Algonquin Highlands council May 7.
“Our goal was to understand, identify and communicate where we as individual property owners are within the wider region; what makes Halls [and Hawk] lakes unique; why protecting our drinking water is important; and what responsibilities we have to protect our drinking water,” Fellows said.
“We live in a special area and rely on a precious natural resource, our water, to sustain us. We have a responsibility to protect it because the individual choices we make affect it,” she added.
The local system was selected alongside two others in Ontario, in Sundridge and Perth, to lead a second phase of a FOCA pilot project seeking to protect valuable and vital sources of drinking water across the province.
Last March, Ontario’s auditor general released a report identifying gaps affecting drinking water safety for nearly three million people who rely on non-municipal systems. On Halls and the Hawks, where water is pulled from the lake and surrounding groundwater reserves, there’s no legislation requiring upkeep, meaning many systems are untested and unregulated.
HHLPOA started with a survey of its members, completed by 168 of approximately 350 properties on the lake chain. Fellows said she was startled to find that 55 per cent of respondents say they never test their drinking water, with 35 per cent testing annually. She said it’s recommended to have drinking water systems tested twice per year at least.
Water showing signs of decline
While water clarity has not changed significantly since measurements began in 1990, Fellows said there are several indications water quality has dropped in recent years.
“The system is healthy overall, but vulnerable because it is highly developed around the shoreline and showing signs of declining water quality.
“Historically, there have been higher populations of pollution-tolerant groups (mayflies, dragonflies, damselflies and caddisflies), which means a higher quality of water as these organisms would not be able to survive in low-quality water. Though, between 2020 and 2024, there have been significant decreases in the proportion of these groups in Halls Lake, indicating water quality has decreased,” the report reads.
Across five years of measurements, there has been a significant increase in “algal abundance” in the Halls and Hawk system. Of particular concern, Fellows said, is an increase in floating algae, which includes blue-green algae.
HHLPOA identified and mapped the drinking water systems that serve the community and the sources that supply water to those systems. They also tracked vulnerable areas where drinking water sources could be at risk from nearby activities.
“We used publicly-available data to describe and understand the geology, geography, hydrogeology and chemistry. There was a lot of science over the winter,” Fellows said.
The top four designated threats to water quality include: activities that reduce aquifer charge, which includes things like increased residential development and destruction of wetlands; problematic septic systems; road salt that runs from nearby Hwy. 35 into the water; and the use of pesticides and fertilizers.
Boat wakes, shoreline erosion, climate change and the Canada Goose were listed as undesignated threats – not listed within Ontario’s Clean Water Act.
“These threats can all result in contamination of our drinking water,” Fellows said.
To offset the risk, she recommended residents maintain their wells, naturalize their shoreline, keep on top of their septic systems and regularly test and treat their drinking water.
Fellows also advised against things like fogging for mosquitoes.
“Companies indicate it’s a plant-based natural product that’s used, but it is toxic to all forms of insects. So, in our efforts to reduce biting insects on our property, we’re actually causing larger harm, killing off beneficial insects,” Fellows said, noting insect population is one of the main indicators used in annual water quality testing through U-Links.
HHLPOA is hosting a plant sale at Elvin Johnson Park May 23, where it will be selling native species people can plant on their property. The group pitched installing some native shrubs at the park, which council approved.
Renaturalizing shorelines is the easiest way for lake residents to pitch in, with Fellows saying it’s important to have at least 80 per cent of growth be native plants.
“Studies show that natural shorelines reduce run-off of surface water directly into the lake and increases filtration through soil and roots, effectively reducing contamination of lake water. They also reduce shoreline erosion, resulting in clearer water,” the report reads.
Taking action
Fellows said HHLPOA is developing a water quality self-assessment tool that lake residents can use to identify threats. She noted drinking water test kits are available through Lakelands Public Health.
With eutrophication of the lake a concern, Fellows said the lake association plans to expand its annual monitoring programs.
The report has identified some gaps in data for Halls Lake, Fellows added, with HHLPOA committing to doing more research to assess threats and areas of vulnerability. One of those is the Halls Lake Causeway, which will be the focus of a thesis from a Trent University student in partnership with U-Links.
HHLPOA also plans to launch a water guardian program where those who pledge to take specific actions to protect water quality will receive a medallion, which Dailloux liked.
“I think you’ve done a beautiful job… we have a lot to learn from your experience here because you’re really doing the work,” Dailloux said. “I think there’s real scale up potential here… where you take this to other lake associations, show them what’s been achieved and see if they’d be interested in doing the same.”
In closing, Fellows requested the township update its study on lake capacity, completed in 2006, to “better understand development pressure and guide future land use decisions.”
