Darnley Bridge

KNWSA has received a portion of its allotment of material from the demolition of Darnley Bridge. This material is targeted for building stream crossings on private land throughout the province. There is a wide range of material size, much of it is creosoted, but is approved by the Dept. of Environment, Energy & Forestry for stream crossing construction. If you have a stream crossing project or know of someone that does, please contact us. Construction cannot occur until June 1 2011, but this is a good time to make plans and assemble material. Trucking to your location can be arranged for as low a cost as possible.

Nitrates Pilot Project

Nitrates occur naturally in the environment and are essential for plant growth. Excessive nitrates, more than plants can use, can contaminate groundwater and affect the quality of our streams. Over time as agriculture practices have become more intense and housing development has increased, nitrates have increased to the point that they are the most common contaminant in water. In our Kensington North Watersheds area, we have relatively high levels of nitrates with many water samples testing greater than 5 mg/L. According to the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water, the maximum acceptable level of nitrates is 10mg/L. High nitrate levels in our streams has led to excessive plant growth and anoxic events in our estuaries. These anoxic events greatly disrupt life in the estuaries, and are a source of bad odour to local residents.
Two watersheds, Wheatley River and the Southwest River, have been selected on PEI to participate in a pilot project aimed at reducing nitrate levels. The Southwest River was selected in part due to a high level of participation in the farming community with environmental management. The partners with the project are the PEI Dept. of Agriculture, PEI Dept. of Environment, Energy & Forestry, the PEI Federation of Agriculture Environmental Plan Program, the Nova Scotia Agriculture College and Agriculture Canada, along with KNWSA and the residents and landowners in the Southwest River watershed. The proposed activities for the pilot include nutrient (fertilizer) management planning on a watershed basis, community meetings, wetland assessments and demonstrations. The potential solutions include a watershed nutrient management plan, low interest loans for homeowners to update aging septic systems, ALUS payments to growers based on organic matter content in their soils, ALUS payments for growing alternative crops, incentives for precision fertilizer equipment, diverting water from tile drainage, and wetland development. It is understood that a combination of these and other “tools” can substantially reduce nitrate levels, and may lead to a provincial wide nitrate program.
KNWSA is hopeful that the pilot project will be successful in reducing groundwater nitrates without causing hardship on those who live and work in our watersheds. The benefits for the Southwest River watershed, besides reduced nitrate levels, will be reduced sediment and nutrient loading, increased biodiversity, healthy soils, and increased awareness of nitrates and other watershed issues.