Local watershed alliance announces two-year restoration project for Seven Persons Creek
The South East Alberta Watershed Alliance is taking one more step toward looking after the rgion’s water systems.
The group recently announced a new watershedscale stream restoration project for Seven Persons Creek. Executive director Marilou Montemayor says the two-year project is focused around repairing certain areas around the creek.
“This is about assessing the condition of riparian areas, so these are the areas that are in transition, the area between the open water and the uplands,” she said. “We have observed that the riparian areas along Seven Persons Creek and around Medicine Hat College are degraded.”
A riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream and they can be home to a lot of important vegetation and wildlife says Montemayor.
“Healthy riparian areas are important for a lot of functions that they do, such as protecting the banks from being eroded, they improve water quality, they provide habitats for many plants and animals, as well as having aesthetic values — people really enjoy them,” she said.
Montemayor, who joined SEAWA in 2016, says the project will be funded by the government under the watershed resiliency and restoration program. Over the next five to six months the group will continue working to identify areas as well as partnering with the landowners to hopefully start restorations in spring of 2018.
“When we identify an area that needs work we then approach the landowner to see if they will work on it,” she said. “Whether it’s the city or say a golf course, SEAWA will be splitting the cost with the landowner for the restoration.”
For more information on SEAWA go to seawa.ca