Heart's Desire Weir on Jock River: Paddler Feedback Needed

Spring view with weir installed





Spring view





For all paddlers who have an interest in our issue at the Hearts Desire Weir.

There was a public meeting on November 5th. I did not attend but I have paddled the Jock.


Frankly, use of the Hearts Desire site by kayakers and canoeists has not been high on the list of issues that PROJECT MANAGERS are trying to come to grips with at this site. Having said that…

They are well aware that this reach of the Jock River is well-used by whitewater enthusiasts in the post-freshet period of late March to early May, when the weir is not in place. They wonder if the H-beam stubs projecting out of the concrete sill of the structure (see picture below) are perceived by kayakers and canoeists as hazardous. (Any comment?)

So the Weir is taken out and then put back in May 2007 – before the weir is installed

They are also aware that infrequently when summer flows are high enough the structure could be attractive to whitewater enthusiasts. An experienced canoeist drowned at the site in 1986 under high flow conditions similar to those shown below (September 10, 2004 – after the remnants of Hurricane Frances – 135 mm of rain ending an extended period of dry weather); the ensuing Coroner’s Jury recommended the weir be decommissioned unless it is serving a significant purpose - otherwise signage and safety measures should be installed (the former City of Nepean and Hearts Desire community indicated at the time that they wanted the operation of the weir to continue, the RVCA complied with their wishes, improved the warning signs and now anchors an orange and white buoy line upstream in the summer).

RVCA (Rideau Valley conservation authority)

They project managers are attempting to formulate a course of action that will eventually lead the RVCA’s Board of Directors to a policy decision about this structure –continue operating it as it has been operated for the past 32 years, retire and decommission it, or modify it in some way – THey are trying to balance a number of considerations including:

upstream erosion rates and bank instability (with the weir vs. without the weir)
upstream flood risks (with the weir vs. without the weir)
aquatic ecosystem condition (with the weir vs. without the weir)
amenity/aesthetic value of the river to the local communities (with the weir vs. without the weir)
economics – there are no funds at our disposal with which to undertake extensive investigations or modifications of the structure; meanwhile, retiring the structure would reduce operating costs by about $6,000/year and eliminate some occupational health and safety risks
compliance with applicable legislation

From my input, I have emphasized that they should also include this consideration:


[b]recreational (whitewater) potential of the river (with the weir vs. without the weir)
[/b]

I wonder if it’s possible, from a whitewater enthusiast’s point of view, to identify the preferred state of the river at this site - would it be preferable to let it run naturally all year long, or should we continue to install the weir for the May to October period, or would it be desirable to modify the structure in some way?

Any input you could offer to these questions would be very much appreciated.

For more information:

Bruce A. Reid, P.Eng., Director
Watershed Science and Engineering Services
Rideau Valley Conservation Authority
1128 Mill Street
Manotick, Ontario
K4M 1A5
Phone: (613) 692-3571 ext. 1103
Fax: (613) 692-0831
e-mail: bruce.reid@rideauvalley.on.ca



FOLKS,

We only get one good shot at something like this. I need your comments and feedback

President Pete
Whitewater Ontario




OPERATION OF HEARTS DESIRE WEIR (JOCK RIVER)

On the Stewardship page of American Whitewater one may see that every state in the U.S. has a recreational use law that basically says landowners owe no duty of care to whitewater paddlers. Basically it places the responsibility on the paddler for his or her own choices. So landowners have no worries about being sued.

In the Kipawa Judicial Review we asked the Crown whether they would allow use in the future if there was no concern about liability and the lawyer would not let the witness answer. But it certainly would make landowners care a whole lot less about what paddlers do around structures if they didn't have to worry about being sued. On the Bottom Moose river in Old Forge New York Fortis energy do not try to prevent kayakers and canoeists from going over their dam. That is an 18 foot vertical drop into a pool, with a Class IV run out. It is significantly harder than the Kipawa or anything else proposed for the Jock river.

We don't see any similar legislation in Ontario exempting landowners from this duty of care. I think a good place to start is a joint letter from organizations such as Whitewater Ontario, local paddling clubs and an organization like the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority to try and get this issue elevated.



Pete






THis is an important issue for Whitewater Ontario.

The design of a weir, a water control structure must not adversely impact recreational whitewataer paddling.

I attached a paper I wrote on this topic.

I also believe that Cour des Bois and Ottawa River Runners may have their own view of this matter.

Les amis de la riviere Kipawa has just gone to Federal Court over issue exactly of this nature. see www.kipawariver.ca or www.whitewaterontario.blogspot.com











Peter

Peter Karwacki, V.P., Les Amis De La Riviere Kipawa
Address: BOX 39111, Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 7X0
Work: 613-738-1338 x3229 Email: kayaky@hotmail.com
FYI: http://www3.sympatico.ca/kayaky/peter.htm






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Charles Billington [mailto:charles.billington@rideauvalley.on.ca]
Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2007 11:31 AM
Subject: PUBLIC MEETING- FUTURE OPERATION OF HEARTS DESIRE WEIR (JOCK RIVER)

Good morning- Pasted below is a story that may interest your readers/listeners. Thank you for your consideration.



Charles Billington

Director, Community Relations

Rideau Valley Conservation Authority

(613) 692-3571 ext 1116

1-800-267-3504 ext 1116

charles.billington@rideauvalley.on.ca





Media Release October 25, 2007

Public Meeting to Discuss the Future Operation of
the Hearts Desire Weir


Hearts Desire, October 25, 2007 — The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) is reviewing its current operation procedures for the Hearts Desire Weir on the lower Jock River near Prince of Wales Drive and is looking for public input. A public meeting is being held Monday, November 5, 2007 from 7– 9 p.m. at the Stonebridge Golf and Country Club.

This public meeting will provide local residents with background information about the weir along with technical and community viewpoints regarding the future need of the weir. Speakers from the Conservation Authority, Hearts Desire Community Association, Stonebridge Community Association, City of Ottawa — Parks and Recreation and Friends of the Jock River will make presentations and answer your questions.

The RVCA has operated this seasonal weir since the early 1970’s. Today, the need for continuing its operation is in question. A look at the current conditions (erosion, water quality, fish habitat), pressures and community interests is necessary. A future course of action will be formulated based on feedback received at this meeting.


- end -

For more information, contact:
Diane Downey
RVCA Community Relations Manager
613-692-3571 ext. 1126
diane.downey@rideauvalley.on.ca

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Peterborough Pool Sessions

Peterborough Kayak & Canoe Pool Session

Wildrock and Kawartha Whitewater Paddlers (KWP) have teamed up to offer pool sessions in Peterborough again this year. The pool sessions will be held at the Trent University Pool starting in early January. Listed below are the dates, times and prices of the pool sessions. Beginner to expert paddlers welcome. You do not need to be a member of K.W.P. to join in the fun. Boat and gear rentals are available. Some instruction / advice will be available during pool sessions ex. Rolling but not formal. If you have any questions or would like to register call

Cale Reeder 1-705-639-2303. After 6:00pm or leave a message

Pool Dates: 10 weeks: Saturday evenings, 7:00pm to 8:30pm

Jan 12th, 19th, 26th
Feb 2nd, 9th, 23rd
Mar 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd

Cost:
First come first server with a max of 25 people/boats per night.

Single night $10.00 per session
Family and Season Rates (must be family)

1 person, all 10 sessions $75.00
2 people, all 10 sessions $120.00
3 people, all 10 sessions $180.00
4 people, all 10 sessions $240.00

Again if you have any questions please or would like to register please call.

Cale Reeder 1-705-639-2303

2008 Executive Acclaimed at AGM

Acclaimed:
(left to right in as shown in picture)

Claudia Van Wijk: Vice President
Jim Tayler: VP Communications
Peter Karwacki: President and Environmental Chair
Steve Pommeroy: Treasurer and Racing Chair: Canoe Ontario Rep.


Other

Whitewater Ontario Executive 2008-2009

Past President Cam McDermaid
VP Instruction Carol Westwood
VP Recreation: Tentative Billy Harris
Secretary : to be appointed
Minden Property Manager: Gary George

*Peter Thompson assisting

Representatives:

West Bill Day
East Jim Smedley, and Canoe Ontaro Rep.
South Cam Mc Dermaid
Slalom Team Manager Jim Tayler
Webmaster Bryce

Report of the President to the AGM

Whitewater Ontario
Presidents Report to the Annual General Meeting
Best Western Hotel, Peter Borough, Ontario, November 3rd, 2007

This my first report to the membership as president of Whitewater Ontario. It seems, in retrospect that it was a busy year - I don't know where the time went.

Liability Insurance
The year started with an immediate requirement to provide membership information to Canoe Ontario for the purposes of renewing insurance coverage for our members. You may know that liability insurance premiums are based on membership numbers. The insurance itself indemnifies instruction sessions, exhibitions and races but not recreational outings. Recreational insurance may be available to WO members upon special application to Pearson Dunn insurance, broker for All Sports Insurance Package.
While recreational paddling members of WO have to mandatorily pay for insurance which they don't use I did try to have the insurance policy reviewed with no effect. The broker likes it as it is and we have precious other alternatives. We need this insurance for our races, we get $16,500 a year in grants from Canoe Ontario to support slalom racing, that is our primary mandate and that is what allows us to financially manage everything else we do - like it or not.
Recreational Paddlers
I remind the recreational paddling community that Whitewater Ontario, as a Non Governmental Organization provides a conduit to government on river preservation issues. Recreational Paddlers will benefit themselves and their sport by supporting Whitewater Ontario in a society where government tends to ignore the individual’s voice in favor of big business, big unions and big government. Having said that I recognize the volunteer contributions to many towards the Les Amis Kipawa Legal Challenge fund.

River Preservation Issues
I immediately started getting notifications from various sources advising that such and such a project is being foreseen on such and such river. I attempted to respond to these sorts of project notifications with a standard response:
1. That any environmental assessment should consider the historical use by recreational whitewater boaters
2. That reasonable accommodation and mitigation be incorporated into projects to allow navigation to continue unfettered
3. That a team of WO designated paddlers could be assembled at the project proponent's cost to determine the recreation merit of any river feature
4. That Whitewater Ontario wishes to be the stakeholder of record for all river projects in Ontario.
Especially the Ministry of Natural Resources was less than helpful in this regard. Their mandate appears to be the exploitation of resources to the exclusion of all other values besides power generation. Efforts must be ongoing, by registering WO as a contractor of record to gain access to the MNR's registry of designation sites, currently not publicly accessible.
The Judicial Review of the Kipawa River Laniel Dam refurbishment was heard in Federal Court on October 23 and 24 in the Supreme court building in Ottawa. It made me feel proud to be a Canadian. Robert Monti was able to distill in the judge an apprehension of government bureaucrats acting in the face of the CEAA and NWPA claiming that the invocation of section 6(4) of the NWPA flew in the face of public consultation.
I attended the Canadian Heritage River conference in Winnipeg at my own expense presenting a paper called: "Putting teeth in Environmental Assessment Screenings" in which I indicated that river preservationist needed to use the courts to ensure changes to the CEAA are made.
This year WO became registered as a member of the Ontario Environmental Network (OEN) which should help in our river advocacy initiatives. I was successful in getting the Water Caucus of the Canadian Environmental Network (RCEN) to use the recreational value of whitewater as an issue for their meetings and discussions.

Financial Issues
Our Government Grant has been cut. Where is the wisdom in that? Our membership numbers are down, our costs are up, not the least of which is the insurance. Our office expenses were about 90% of our Provincial Grant and now they exceed our grant.
Our office expenses include accounting, phone, postage, website, for which we also get office continuity and support for meetings and a central point of contact for our members inquiries.
So we will have to examine ways to restructure our office functions/hours in light of the funding cut backs – or develop other sources of funding. We will continue to meet via teleconference as much as feasible considering the cost of transportation, this is our most economical alternative.

Minden
There was no 25th anniversary party. We lacked horsepower to make it happen but there is no shame in having a good 27th We continue to hope Victor Ettel will take on the job of Property Manager. In the interim Gary and Cammy have held the fort. How lucky we are to have them in our fold. We have garbage problems: the municipality has increased standards at its landfill so that recycling is mandatory: this is complicated by the fact that locals dump there trash in our bins. So much for no trace camping.
Over the summer I appointed Jeff Strano as VP of Marketing Operations hoping that he might use his local contacts in Minden to shake up some support for the preserve.
In addition, I made arrangements with Sir Sanford Flemming Recreation and Tourism Students to conduct Management and marketing studies for Minden Wildwater Preserve. Their final reports form a great resource for us but as for implementation: we lack funds. For this I have applied for a $35,0000 grant from MEC and in the next year I will also apply to the Trillium Foundation.
Orillia Light and Power advised us that our annual rent for the shoreline property at the take out has been increased to $200 a year plus GST and coinsured name on our liability policy held by Guthrie.
I conducted a work weekend in Minden with Gary George. He and I made modifications to the buildings plumbing to solve the dish washing problem. There were nine volunteers on May 22 and I issued each of them a monthly camping pass for June in appreciation.
There were some discussions concerning the safety training taking place on the Gull. I informed the users, of our expectations and I am certain that the trainers are very clear and amenable to our requirements.
Discussions were held with the Trent Severn Waterway to try and secure more regular releases and cooperation. A special task force was formed and discussions were held last winter.
Finally, we were successful in getting a Human Resources Student Grant for the summer. The presence of the student helped keep the property in good order while ensuring camping fees were properly collected.

Instruction
The progress to form a joint program with Paddle Canada is ongoing. We were unable to start the program for the 2007 year due to previous agreements with ORCKA and Paddle Canada. Plans are underway to implement the new program for the 2008 instruction session. A proposal has been opened to form a Canoe Kayak Canada/Paddle Canada National program. Details in the VP-Instruction report

Club Development
Very little has happened on this front again owing to the lack of funds however there was considerable email traffic on boater board to try and stimulate interest in a new river preservation network. The importance of having a staff member working on this cannot be underestimated.
There was an effort to promote membership at the Toronto Outdoor Show. I am not convinced that this is working for us.
I made arrangements with the American Wildwater Affiliation. We are now a member. As a result all Whitewater Ontario members may receive a discounted individual membership.
I have operated my personal blog at www.whitewaterontario.blogspot.com offering commentary on current events for Whitewater Ontario and also Les Amis de la rivière Kipawa focusing on key river preservation issues.
Communicatons
Jim Tayler prepared the 2007 event book on a cost recovered basis.

Racing

We were successful in securing grant funding through the Provincial Quest for Gold program to hire a full time coach in Ottawa. This years racing program was expanded with new races and efforts to include open boat classes. At the high performance level Ontario athletes accounted for more than 50% of the boats winning places on the national Junior and Senior slalom teams. And Ontario won the Brian Greer Trophy as best province at the national championships.

Efforts to expand the racing program including club development in other parts of the province have been constrained by limited funding and in many regions, lack of local expertise or interest.

Other

Future ideas include Whitewater Ontario registering as a contractor for National Defense and providing support for soldiers who have been de limbed below the waste. Kayaking can provide them with satisfaction and personal accomplish at the level of the able bodied.


Acknowledgements

Thanks to Donna Boadway for her excellent administrative support and Steve Pomeroy for keeping me honest in all my dealings, and Carol Westwood for keeping me straight on task, Jim Tayler for keeping me optimistic, and Gary George for giving me something to say more often than he would have liked. This has been a real team effort. Let’s forge ahead and create a new day for Whitewater Ontario.

Day Two at Federal Court - excitment abounds

Here Doug Skeggs and I are seen in front of the Supreme Court building in Ottawa where the Federal Court Case was heard.

Now it remains for the judge, justice Noel to make is ruling, this will likely take about two months. Its a complicated case.

The essential right of all canadians to ply navigable waters is at stake with the government countering that they can simply use NWPA 6(4) to take that right away without consultation.

Lets see where this takes us?

Pete

Les Amis has their "first " day in court

In this image are Dave Pollard, Member chair, Francois Diebolt, Treasurer and Peter Karwacki, Vice President of Les Amis.

We are in the foyer of the Supreme Court Building.

Tomorrow, October 24 will be the chance for Rob Monti, of Nelligan Payne representing, Les Amis to rebutt the remarks of the justic lawyer. Please come out.

starts at 09:30

exciting stuff this, having the government finally account for their actions - theirs is a very shakey three legged table which relies on 6(4) of the NWPA which in the midst of a public consultative EA process requires no public consultation - flying the governments underwear in the wind.