Black-Severn Watershed Characteristics

Within the Black - Severn watershed there are three upper tier municipalities (Simcoe, Muskoka, and Haliburton), one separated city (Orillia), one single tier municipality (City of Kawartha Lakes) and nine lower tier municipalities.

The large geography covered by the SWP region is quite diverse in terms of population density, economy, and land use. These differences represent a significant challenge for the development of a source water protection plan because of the associated variability of available information upon which to base the technical work, the differing stresses on water resources related to development pressure and population growth, and the differences in the nature, density and locations of threats to the quality and quantity of water resources.

The Black River watershed lies within portions of Haliburton County, the District Municipality of Muskoka, Simcoe County and City of Kawatha Lakes. It has a total drainage area of 2,805 km². The Black River is the main tributary of the Severn River and extends from the confluence at Washago northeastward into Haliburton County. The river originates at elevations of 366 m and 396 m above sea level. It drains several small lakes before it enters Logan Lake where it is joined by Anson Creek. It drains Logan Lake and flows south until it enters St. John Lake. The confluence of Head River is just before St. John Lake. It leaves St. John Lake and flows north to enter the North Severn River at Washago.

The Black River watershed can be divided into seven subwatersheds; Head River, Kahshe River, Lake St. John, Upper Black River, Black River, Upper Talbot River, Morrison Lake, Six Mile Lake and the North Severn River.

The Black River watershed is located within four regional-scale physiographic regions as defined by Chapman and Putnam (1984):

• Number 11 Strip, characterized by deposits of clays, silts and fine- to medium-grained sands that occupy hollows and depressions within the bedrock of the Canadian Shield.
• Carden Plain, which is a limestone plain that extends from the Kawartha Lakes to Lake Couchiching and typically has silt to silty-sand soils less than 1 meter in depth.
• Simcoe Lowlands, which extends from the Dalrymple area to north of Kahshe Lake and adjacent to the Black River, is characterized by flat, low-lying plains composed of clays, silts and fine- to medium-grained sands.
• Georgian Bay Fringe, which borders Georgian Bay and is characterized by exposed bedrock with little soils.

The watershed receives approximately 958.30 mm of precipitation annually.

There are several surface water intakes in this watershed region, drawing water from Georgian Bay, Severn Sound, Little Lake, and Lake Couchiching. There are also a number of municipal wells.

• District Municipality of Muskoka – 1 surface water intake
• Simcoe County – 2 groundwater systems (drawing from wells)
• Haliburton County – no drinking water systems in the watershed
• City of Orillia – 1 surface water intake and 3 wells
• City of Kawartha Lakes – 2 groundwater systems using 4 wells

The Black-Severn watershed is part of the Trent-Severn Waterway. As such, water levels and flows throughout the Severn River drainage basins, including the Black River watershed, are managed by Parks Canada, which is an Agency of Environment Canada.

Source: The Black-Severn Characterization Report and Trent-Severn Waterway Website

• Black-Severn Watershed Characteristics
  
• Lake Simcoe Watershed Characteristics
• The Nottawasaga Valley Watershed Characteristics
• Severn Sound Watershed Characteristics