The Greenbelt protection has extended to 21 major urban river valleys and 7 coastal wetlands across the Greater Golden Horseshoe - including the Farewell Creek!
The addition of these waterways to the Greenbelt is an important recognition of the vital role the Greenbelt plays in protecting the hydrological features we rely on for clean drinking water, flood protection, and healthy ecosystems.
Farewell Creek is a watercourse in Durham County, that empties into Lake Ontario, at Oshawa, Ontario. Every 5 years Central Lake Ontario Conservation releases a report card to assess the health of the Farewell Creek watershed. Grades around urbanized areas typically decline because of reduced natural vegetation and hard surfaces, such as roads and roofs. Protecting the urban river valleys is very important for our communities health.
Top facts about the Farewell Creek:
Both physical observation and numerical models confirm that the Farewell Creek watershed has adequate available water for most human consumptive uses.
The Farewell Creek watershed exhibits low runoff rates, the long-term average annual runoff is estimated at approximately 193 mm/year, which is well below the watershed average of 205 mm/year.
The Farewell Creek watershed exhibits the best health scores for the Rapid Stream Assessment, largely due to the deep forested valley and limited disturbance.
The Farewell Creek watershed currently has 12% wetland cover.
Currently, the Farewell Creek watershed has 15% forest cover so it is recognized that attempting to double the current amount of forest in an urbanizing watershed is very difficult.
Want to learn more?
Right now, we are working with community groups, municipalities and organizations across the Greenbelt to ensure the urban river valleys and the Greenbelt remain healthy for generations to come.
The Central Lake Ontario Conservation (CLOC) has produced extensive research about the Farewell Creek Watershed.
The CLOC organizes many events to help you learn more about the watershed, or you could check-out our events page.
