Save the date for the Annual General Meeting
The meeting will take place on Zoom on Saturday July 6, 2024. Visit our Membership webpage to update your membership before then so you can vote on our updated Bylaws and other decisions we have to take.

Native plants have been ordered
This year we will be giving away free plants again. You’ll be able to choose your plants in March!

A natural shoreline helps filter nutrients before they reach the lake. Too many nutrients in the lake decreases water quality, reduces oxygen for fish and allows milfoil and algae to proliferate.

Consider replacing sand, grassy lawns, and retaining walls with shrubs, trees and plants within 10-15 meters of the water. This will also make you compliant with municipal bylaws to avoid any fines once the municipality starts enforcing the shoreline bylaw.

There are templates for what a healthy shoreline looks like on our website as part of the Anne Leech Shoreline Revitalization Project. Visit this webpage for more information.

Parent Creek project update
Since the first big blue green algae bloom 20 years ago we have known there is a problem with Parent Creek. Run-off from farms reach the lake because it was straightened into a drainage ditch in the 1960s. Now we are developing partnerships with some farmers, CREDDO and ACRE to work together to restore Parent Creek. Re-meandering parts of the Creek will allow vegetation to regrow, making it a better filter.

Last week our application was submitted to the Quebec Ministry of Environment’s “Programme de restauration et de création de milieux humides et hydriques” for funding Phase 1 - Planning which includes hydrology studies. Once the first phase is complete, we can apply for funding for Phase 2 - Implementation.

Happy New Year Lac Gauvreau residents! Here at the lake we have a beautiful blanket of snow

The Municipality of La Pêche’s Green Fund supports innovative community projects that, for example, manage waste and protect water. Funding from the Green Fund has supported various projects over the years aimed at slowing down the eutrophication process that has sped up on our lake.

What is eutrophication?
Eutrophication is a natural aging process that takes place over tens of thousands of years. Eutrophication is the extreme end of the spectrum on a scale that goes from oligotrophic (young) to mesotrophic (middle aged) to eutrophic (old).

Too much of a good thing…
Although there is nothing wrong with phosphorus and chlorophyll in the water, the effects are determined by the quantity. Too much of a good thing accelerates aging and, eventually, the lake becomes too acidic to support life. Too much of these nutrients also creates the ideal conditions for milfoil. Perhaps these pesky plants wouldn’t be so bad, except they grow so pervasively that they quickly crowd out other plant life in the lake and contribute to the reduction of oxygen and sunlight in the lake. With limited factors needed to support this biodiversity, the chemical composition of the lake changes, becoming toxic to humans.

Our lake has been characterized as mesotrophic
Unfortunately, the process from mesotrophic to eutrophic can happen very quickly, which is why we monitor the nutrients that cause the process to speed up. We also measure the transparency of the lake to identify where the lake is at in the aging process.

This is, in a nutshell, the science behind our initiatives to:

• Restore natural shorelines with native plants which filters nutrients from coming into the lake.
• Re-meander parts of Parent Creek to slow down deposits of silt loaded with nutrients in the lake.
• Reduce motorboat traffic and speeds in the shallower parts of the lake to reduce the release of "locked up" nutrients attached to the silt on the bottom of the lake that gets stirred by propeller wash and wake.
• Sending you all warm wishes as the weather turns down for the winter.

These are some of the priorities for the year and we’ll continue to let you know how these are affecting lake health.

Below is a more detailed presentation led by ABV de 7 on YouTube.