Holiday gift for the fish of Bogart Creek

Newmarket – The Town of Newmarket and Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA) have come up with a creative solution to a long-standing problem for fish in Bogart Creek – although pedestrians might never notice the difference.

Work was recently completed to replace Wellington Street Bridge. A sewer main, crossing the creek bed alongside Wellington Street, had been a barrier to fish for decades. It was a two-foot wall that was just too high and too wide for fish to jump.

Free movement between the creek and East Holland River is essential not only to reproduction but also to sustaining a healthy fish population within the creek. When inspection last spring showed the culvert itself was in need of replacement, it was an opportunity to find a new solution.

“It was not feasible to reroute the sewer pipe away from the creek,” said Jennifer Payne, a conservation engineer with the LSRCA. “At the same time, the pipe was a barrier for the fish and an obstacle to their wellbeing.”

The solution developed by the Town and the Conservation Authority is a fish ladder – steps in the creek bed. Now, instead of facing an insurmountable two-foot wall, fish can jump one step at a time.

“The fish now have freedom of movement that hasn’t existed here for many years,” said Conservation Authority senior fisheries biologist Jeff Andersen. “The flow of water is more natural, the fish are able to move in either direction, and this solution brings us one step closer to a viable fish population in Bogart Creek.”

The finishing work on the bank of the creek was a “soft” (bioengineered) solution, using natural materials such as trees, shrubs and rocks. This form of erosion control complements the existing natural surroundings, preferred over unnatural “hard” structures such as large limestone blocks or stone-filled wire gabion baskets.

“This is a wonderful improvement that is certain to benefit the creek and anyone who appreciates its value,” said Dave Kerwin, Newmarket Ward 2 Councillor and member of the Bogart Creek Restoration Project Committee.

The Town, the Conservation Authority and the Bogart Creek Restoration Project Committee have been working together to improve the Bogart Creek since 2003.

They have planted over 2,500 trees along the creek and installed over 40 bird houses with the help of volunteers. The Town and the Conservation Authority have also

worked together on other “soft” solutions along the East Holland River where sections of eroded river bank were restored.