The Nottawasaga Valley Watershed Characteristics

The Nottawasaga Valley Watershed lies within the Counties of Simcoe (74%), Dufferin (22%), and Grey (4%). The watershed is bounded to the south by the Humber and Credit River Watersheds. The Niagara Escarpment forms part of the western boundary, separating the Nottawasaga from the Grand and Saugeen Watersheds. On the east, the Nottawasaga Watershed is bounded by the numerous streams which drain into Lake Simcoe.

The Nottawasaga Valley watershed is quite diverse in terms of population density, economy, and land use. There is a great deal of variation in human characteristics across the watershed from the densely populated urban centers Simcoe County, to the prominent agricultural communities in the west. 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 Nottawasaga River is approximately 122 km in length along its main channel and has a drainage area of 3,361 sq. km. The main branch of the river’s source is in the till moraines of Amaranth Township at an elevation of almost 490 meters. The Nottawasaga River has a total drop of 310 meters to its outlet into Georgian Bay and has an average gradient of 2.6 meters per km. However, in the upper reaches of the river, the gradient is as much as 19 meters per km. The Nottawasaga River has 13 primary tributaries, the approximate drainage areas for whaich are listed below. An unusual characteristic of the Nottawasaga Valley Watershed is its virtual lack of natural lakes.

Physiography
The Nottawasaga Valley Watershed is located within four (4) regional-scale physiographic regions as defined by Chapman and Putnam (1984): Horseshoe moraines, Peterborough drumlin field, Simcoe lowlands and the Simcoe Uplands (Chapman and Putnam 1984).

Summary of Municipal Water takings
The large majority of the NVCA watershed residents rely on groundwater as their source for potable water, including both private and municipal systems. Within the NVCA SWP region, only one surface water intake exist, located in Collingwood. However, over 130 municipal wells exist, listed below.

Source: The Nottawasaga Valley Characterization Report

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