Addressing Soil Erosion

Erosion occurs where bare ground is exposed to wind or moving water (runoff), and loose soil particles are detached, transported, and deposited further down the watershed. There they can clog fish gills, smother aquatic life, and destroy habitat needed by aquatic plants. Runoff containing eroded sediment also carries nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus into Lake Simcoe.

Erosion can be a particular problem in developed areas, construction sites, and along roadways, wherever pavement, rooftops, compacted soil, or lack of vegetation allows water to flow freely and wash away soil or debris. When storms occur, sediments and nutrients may be washed for miles until they reach the lake.

What You Can Do

• Keep cars, heavy loads, and grazing animals away from streambanks, riverbanks, and lakeshores.
• Do not dam up or pump small streams dry. Do not fill ditches and other watercourses with garbage, brush, or fill. Conservation authority permits are required for any fill, construction, and alteration to watercourses, or along shore lines with in defined regulated areas.
• Don't build on steep slopes. Leave them in a condition as close to "natural" as possible.
• Avoid clearcutting trees and vegetation on your property. Removal of vegetation in shore land areas is restricted by law. To prevent erosion, retain or replant areas along watercourses with native trees and vegetation.
• Immediately stabilize (plant grass/shrubs) and mulch any disturbed soil.
• Limit the area of disturbed soil for any period of time. Bare soils are easily eroded.
• Install filter fabric fences on slopes below construction, preferably where runoff will be intercepted before it concentrates into a channelled flow. These fences help remove fine and coarse soil particles from the runoff. Inspect and maintain them regularly.
• Seed, sod, or riprap artificial waterways and road side ditches, depending on steepness of grade. Small watercourses and ditches that can't handle peak water flows during major storms can become a lasting erosion problem.
• Install gravel-filled trenches along driveways and patios to collect water and allow it to filter gradually into soils. Trenches should be at least one foot wide and three feet deep.
• Use untreated cedar or redwood decking, bricks, or interlocking stones set in sand for walkways and patios.
• Divert rain from paved surfaces onto level areas of grass, groundcover, or forested areas to allow gradual absorption.