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Eagle LakeProperty Owners’ Associationwww.elpoa.ca
NEWSLETTER JUNE 2018
In this Issue1 President’s Message
2 Lyme Disease
5 Water Quality Index
7 Eagle Lake Fishery
8 Water Levels 2018
10 ELPOA AGM
11 Well Survey
12 Tay Watershed Report
15 Drone Mapping Images
16. RKY Camp Report
By the looks of this photo, springhas finally arrived at Eagle Lake. Ihope everyone, and your cottages,passed the winter safely.
During the winter months, yourBoard of Directors has been busyand productive. The water level andthe activities of the beavers on EagleCreek has kept Mike Day and othersactive. They have been workingclosely with the MNRF to maintainappropriate lake levels and toreplace the HOBO gauge.Hopefully, the new gauge will beoperational by the time you arereading this newsletter.
Additionally, we have beenrecruiting new Board members. Iam pleased to report we will berecommending Darcie Cummings,Jennifer Evans and Jason Miller tothe Membership as new Boardmembers. Irv Dardick, Doug
Cummings, RichardHolmes and Mike Day’smembership terms areup. However, I amconfident they willremain active in theassociation. We greatlyappreciate all they havedone to aid and supportELPOA.
You will have an opportunity toelect your Board during our AnnualGeneral Meeting (AGM) on July 14,2018 at RKY Camp. At the AGM,we are able to add two members-at-large. Please consider thisopportunity to join the Board.
Proposed 2018-2019ELPOA Directors
Bill Steele, President; BrianDevlin, Past President; RickCousins, Secretary; JaredMacklin, Treasurer; Jeff Aird,Membership; Barrie Frost,Newsletter Editor; SteveBurgess, Fishery; D’ArcyMunn, Advertising; JoanneClowbridge, Russell Smith,Doug Ritter, Cathy Wight,Darcie Cummings, JenniferEvans, Jason Miller.
Continued on page 2
2 Eagle Lake Property Owners’ Association2 Eagle Lake Property Owners’ Association
We have successfully distributed the newsletterselectronically this year. However, we do run intodistribution snags when members change their emailaddresses and do not notify us. If you do changeyour address, please notify the President and thechanges will be made. Thank you
We are having a membership drive prior to ourAGM. Your Board will be blitzing the lake withapplication forms and information about ELPOA.You can help your association by encouraging yourcottage neighbours to join ELPOA.
We have contracted Wade Leonard and his GraniteRidge students to complete the drone mapping ofEagle Creek which started last fall. The images fromthe fall are stunning. I’m confident the latest imageswill be equally impressive.
Mayor Smith indicates the Township has beenworking at gathering the necessary data in order to
establish the septic reinspection program. She willprovide more information during her presentation atthe AGM.
Our guest speaker at the AGM will be arepresentative of the Rideau Valley ConservationArea (RCVA), Meaghan McDonald. She will providea presentation on Lake Shore Management. I’m sureit will be informative.
Save the Date—The 2018 Parham Fair will take placeon August 18-19.
I hope you enjoy reading the rest of our Spring 2018edition.
Cheers,
Brian
President’s Message continued
ELPOA E-news is Coming Soon!By Michele Cummings
The ELPOA E-news is coming soon to an Inbox near you! I thought I would giveyou a little glimpse into the type of things that will be included.
What’s Happening?
The Cardinal Café in Sharbot Lake holds Coffee & Music nights on Thursdayevenings. Doors open at 6pm, music is from 7-9pm. Free entry as always, goodwill offering to the band. Baked goods, coffee, tea and beer will be available forpurchase. Note: there is no dinner service.
�� June 7 – About the News�� June 14 – Open Mic
Current Burn StatusAt time of writing , status is “Burn Ban Off” – all types of burning permitted withproper permit. Fire can only occur between 7pm and 7am. Campfire Permit is$2 per season! Be sure to check website before starting a fire.For more information: http://www.centralfrontenac.com/BurnBan.html
Continued on page 13
Lym
e D
isea
se–
It’s
Her
e to
Sta
y
Kathy Wight
Lyme disease is an infection caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferiand is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected black legged tick.Since 1988 when Lyme first became a reportable disease in Ontario thenumbers of confirmed cases have been increasing each year. In 2017, 182cases were confirmed in the Kingston Frontenac Lennox and AddingtonHealth Unit area, a three- fold increase from 2016. Surrounding healthunits also reported a similar increase in confirmed cases. The exact reasonfor the increase is not known. The risk of getting Lyme disease isincreased in our region (Figure 1), especially in summer (Figure 5).
While in the nymph stage of its life cycle (Figures 2 and 6) the deer tick isno larger than a poppy seed and is easy to miss. When they attachthemselves and start to feed they release a substance that numbs thesurrounding skin so usually there is no sensation of them feeding. It iswhile they are in this stage that most cases of Lyme are transmitted.
Symptoms of early Lyme infection may appear between three and thirtydays after a bite and may often but not always include a characteristicbull's eye rash ( Erythema migrans) at the location of the tick bite (Figure3) and possibly fever, headache and body aches and swollen lymph nodes.
Symptoms of laterLyme disease mayinclude Erythemamigrans as well asheart problems, facialnerve palsy, enlargedlymph nodes and it canbe potentially fatal.
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 1
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elpoa.ca 3
Fortunately Lyme disease can be treated withantibiotics. The earlier treatment is started theeasier it is to treat. It is possible to take a shortdose of prophylactic antibiotics if you have beenbitten by a tick from an area considered endemicfor Lyme disease rather than wait for symptomsto appear. The sooner the prophylactic dose istaken the more effective it is and it should betaken within 72 hours of removing the tick.
Many people develop Lyme even though they donot recall a tick bite. Seek medical attention assoon as possible should you develop symptoms.Diagnosis of Lyme can be made from clinicalsymptoms. Blood work helps to confirm thediagnosis, though treatment can start beforeresults are received.
One of the best ways to deal with Lyme diseaseis to take steps to avoid tick bites.
• Check your entire body, including your scalp,after being outside, especially if you werein wooded areas, long grass
• Tuck trousers and slacks into socks andspray socks and shoe tops with insecticidecontaining permethrin
• Use an insect repellent that contains DEET• Take a quick shower to remove ticks that are
not yet attached• Put clothes in a hot dryer after being out of
doors • Check pets
If you spot an embedded tick• Use tweezers if possible and grasp it as close to the skin as possible (Figure 4)• Pull it straight out, gently but firmly
• Clean the area with soap and water or hand sanitizer
Reduce ticks around your cottage• Remove brush and fallen leave from the
edges of your property• A border of gravel or wood chips can help
to create a separation between lawn andwooded areas
• Keep grass mowed• Place children's play structures away from
wooded areas
For more information about Lyme disease thereare a number of excellent websites available (seebelow) or you can call the Communicable DiseaseProgram at your local health unit.
Canada.ca/LymeDisease (Web Link)Public Health Ontario - Lyme Disease (Web Link)
Figure 4
Figure 6
Figure 5
4 Eagle Lake Property Owners’ Association
Continued from page 3
elpoa.ca 5
Background InformationIn our review of water quality data gathered by RideauValley Conservation Authority (RCVA) during a 13-year period from 2002 to 2014, conditions at EagleLake have remained quite stable (Reference 1). Byavoiding phosphate-containing products, maintainingseptic systems in good condition and other measures,Eagle Lake property owners deserve credit for stablewater quality. As will become apparent, the health ofthe lake remains excellent.
Based on its annual water sampling of the lakes in theTay River Subwatershed (Figure 1), RCVA publishedcatchment reports in 2011 for these lakes, including
Eagle Lake (Reference 2). In the summary of thesereports, a parameter referred to as water quality index(WQI) was stated simply as a final grading. In thefollow-up catchment reports to be published by RVCAthis summer, the WQI will have greater emphasis.The WQI used by RVCA is based on recommendationsfrom the Canadian Council of Ministers of theEnvironment (CCME). The CCME WQI is based inturn on an index developed by the British Columbia
Ministry of Environment, Lands & Parks in 1995, andthat eventually incorporated modifications developedby Alberta in 1999. The CCME WQI has since beenadopted as the standard by all Canadian provinces andthe federal government (Reference 3). Someinternational countries, as well as certain states in theUSA, also use this WQI as their standard.
Calculation of the WQI uses a variety of measurableparameters in the evaluation of the overall health ofstreams, rivers and lakes for a defined time period. Itscomparative usefulness relies on calculating threeprimary factors to eventually arrive at a value from 0 to100 percent with the later designating a water body ofexcellent health status.
From data sets of water quality results such as thoseobtained each spring, summer and fall by RVCA forlakes in our subwatershed, i.e., sets of measurableparameters, the three primary factors calculated are:
1) Number of parameters whose defined standards are not met;2) Frequency with which parameter guidelines are not met; and3) The degree or amount by which guidelines are not met.
The parameters used for WQI calculations by RVCAfor lakes in the Tay River subwatershed are listed inTable 1.
Water Quality Index Determination and Lake StatusEagle Lake, the Jewel of the Tay River Subwatershed
Figure 1. Eagle Lake, Leggat Lake and Eagle Creek arecontained within the Tay River Subwatershed (arrow), whichin turn is part of the overall watershed controlled by theRideau Valley Conservation Authority.
Table 1.Parameter StandardTotal phosphorus Not greater than 20 micrograms/litre
Total Kjeldahl nitrogen Not greater than 500 micrograms/litre
Secchi disk depth Greater than 2 metrespH of lake water Range of pH 6.5 to 9 protects aquatic
life
Dissolved oxygen andTemperature
At least 20% of the water column atthe deep point must have suitableconcentrations for warm water fishspecies, i.e., temperatures less than25°C and dissolved oxygenconcentration greater than 4 mg/litre
Continued on page 6
Irv Dardick
6 Eagle Lake Property Owners’ Association
The value of such a data analysis results from the factthat even minor deviations from the standard for aparticular parameter are readily reflected in the WQIcalculation even over a relatively short time span. Datafrom water quality measurements at Eagle Lake willshortly be provided to illustrate the useful sensitivity ofWQI.
Eagle Lake & Tay River Subwatershed Lakes’ WQIThe database of water quality measurements archived atRVCA was divided into 3-year cohorts for the years2006 to 2017 (Table 2). This time-span was selected toreduce skewing of WQI results in situations where asingle parameter exceeded the standard. In theTay River Subwatershed, results wereavailable for 19 lakes. This includes the largestlake, Bobs Lake, which has 8 separate sitesthat were routinely assessed (Table 2).
After computer-based analysis of the data forthe five parameters (Table 1) for each of thefour time periods, the results are categorizedon a percentage basis (Table 2). The fivecolour-coded point scores are provided as“Water quality rating” at the bottom of Table2. Over the four time periods, 50 percent of thelakes have a good to very good rating, a further40 percent have a fair rating, and only 10percent a poor to very poor grading Table 2).
In the “very good” (95-100 percent) WQIrating, there are five lakes (Pike, Farren, BobsWest Basin, Christie and Rock) with twooccurrences at this level (Table 2). But, there isonly one lake where this rating level occurs inthree of the four time periods and this is EagleLake (Table 2).
What are the reasons for the “fair” rating atEagle Lake for the 2009-2011 time period(Table 2)? In the Background section above,mention was made of the sensitivity of theWQI methodology for readily detectingchanges in water quality over a relatively shorttime period. The “fair” (65-79 percent)occurred with one Total Phosphorus result of
22 mg/litre (standard 20 mg/litre) and a few deviationsof the pH from the standard during this 3-year period. Soa few minor and transient deviations can effect the finalWQI result, but with little long-term impact on overalllake water quality in this case.
References:1. Eagle Lake Property Owners’ Association, State of theLake Report Update 2015.2. Rideau Valley Conservation Authority. EagleLake/Eagle Creek Catchment Report 2011.3. Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment.User’s Manual 2017 Update.
Continued from page 5
Special thanks to RVCA staff Sarah MacLeod-Neilson and Martin Czarski for the data analysis of lakes in oursubwatershed. A detailed report on the Tay River Subwatershed has just become available (see page 12).
elpoa.ca 7
Steve Burgess
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry(MNRF) is responsible for monitoring the abun-dance and health of fish populations in lakes andrivers across Ontario. To provide information for itsfisheries management decisions, MNRF conductsperiodic sampling of fish populations in lakes andrivers across the province. As part of this broad-scale monitoring program, MNRF science crewswill be conducting netting operations on a numberof lakes in the Southern Region of Ontario, includ-ing Eagle Lake, from June to September this sum-mer. Information will be collected on fish speciespresent, water samples will be taken, and presenceof invasive species will be noted. Biological datacollected will provide MNRF biologists with valu-able information about abundance, age structure,mortality, and maturity of the types of fish in thelake.
Netting will take five to eight days to complete.Nets are checked and moved daily to new locations.Notices will be posted at various locations, includ-ing public boat launches on the lake, during the net-ting operations. While the lake is being monitored,all nets will be clearly marked with orange MNRFbuoys. Please do not lift the nets or buoys, andavoid recreational activities between and around thebuoys.
The broad-scale monitoring program is designed tomonitor the current and changing state of fisheriesacross Ontario. The program is in its third five-yearcycle. The results of previous broad-scalemonitoring conducted at Eagle Lake are set out inthe table on the right.
The information collected this summer will be usedto evaluate the health of fish populations and makefishery management decisions to ensure the sustain-ability of Ontario’s fisheries.
If you have any questions regarding the above,please contact Steve Vandermeer at 705-324-5851([email protected]).
Monitoring the Health of Eagle Lake’s Fishery
MNRF staff doing broad scale monitoring at Eagle Lakein September 2014
8 Eagle Lake Property Owners’ Association
Eagle Lake water levels are top of mind,especially at this time of year with the busysummer season approaching. Will water levelsbe low like 2016 or more similar to last year?
The problem with predicting water levels in thefuture is that they are dependent primarily on theweather, and we just haven’t become very goodyet at predicting weather over the long term. TheOntario Ministry of Natural Resources andForestry (MNRF) office in Kingston can influencethe water level through manipulation of the damat the outlet into Eagle Creek but there is asaying “humans manage in inches, MotherNature manages in feet”. For example, in 2016,low levels were potentially a little worsebecause the dam was closed off after the springrunoff was gone, but the subsequent low lakelevels were almost entirely due to the regionaldrought conditions.
At the time of writing (late May) it appears thatthe lake is off to a pretty good start. There is agood water supply, the lake is declining from thespring high water and there isn’t any strongindication of either a wet or dry summer. MNRFpersonnel is engaged and in frequentcommunication with ELPOA through Mike Day.The real-time water level gauge that wasinstalled near RKY Camp in the fall of 2016 did notfunction well through this past winter, but a newone was installed by MNRF on May 17.The link to access it is:https://www.hobolink.com/p/514d9138341c7e23de90650efa057a91
However, one note of caution: it will take sometime for MNRF to calibrate it to report anaccurate lake level. ELPOA executive memberDoug Ritter has been manually recording lakelevels since 2010. With his reliable record, itappears that as of May 20, the MNRF gauge isreporting low by about 8 cm. The graph belowshows lake levels over the past 4 years usingDoug’s data.
Another major factor affecting the lake level isthe occasional blocking of flow in Eagle Creek bybeaver dams. Mike Day worked through thewinter with local contractor Bill White, whocarried out beaver dam clearing operations atotal of 12 times. Bill also worked to manage thebeaver population, with the removal of 17beavers.
During the winter, Mike Day also arranged for aconsultant with Ducks Unlimited in Kingston tovisit Eagle Creek to give his assessment of thebeaver dam situation and any possible solutions.
Rick Cousins, Doug Ritter & Mike Day
Continued on page 14
Please support our advertisers.They support ELPOA
Cardinal Café & Shop
14153 Road 38 Sharbot Lake
613.279.3734 / [email protected]
Breakfast - Lunch - Espresso - Baked Goods - Licenced Pa o
elpoa.ca 9
10 Eagle Lake Property Owners’ Association
10 Eagle Lake Property Owners’ Association
DO YOU LIVEIN ONTARIO?
DO YOU OWN ORUSE A PRIVATEWATER WELL?
DO YOU OWN A PRIVATE WELL?
WEWANT
TO HEARFROM YOU!
Please take 10-12 minutes to addyour voice to a province-wideconversation about what youuse your well water for, what youthink about your well water, andhow you protect your well water.
For further information, please contact:Sarah Lavallee, MES Candidate, School of Environmental Studies, Queen’s University: [email protected]
Please forward the invitation as appropriate.
CLICK HERE TO BEGIN SURVEYHurry! Survey closes end of June!
This survey is in collaboration with Queen’s University, McMaster University,Trinity College Dublin, Public Health Ontario, and University of Saskatchewan
elpoa.ca 11
Rideau Valley Conservation Authority has just released thissubwatershed report that includes Eagle Lake. Filled with usefulinformation about our region. It can be accessed online:
https://watersheds.rvca.ca/subwatersheds/tay-river/subwatershed-report-tay-river
12 Eagle Lake Property Owners’ Association
12821 Hwy 38Sharbot Lake, Ontario
(613) 279 2455
12821 Hwy 38Tichbourne, Ontario
(613) 279-2455
Buying or Selling? Let us guide you with 30 years of experience!
www.LakeDistrictRealty.com 14202 Rd 38, Sharbot Lake, ONwww.EasternOntarioWaterfront.com Tel. (613)[email protected] Toll Free (866)279-2109
ELPOA 2017-2018Board of Directors
Brian Devlin, [email protected]
Irving Dardick, [email protected]
Richard Holmes, [email protected]
Rick Cousins, [email protected]
Mike Clobridge, Lake [email protected]
Barrie Frost, [email protected]
Steve Burgess, [email protected]
Mike Day, Lake Level [email protected]
Jeff Aird, [email protected]
D’Arcy Munn, Advertisingd'[email protected]
Doug Cummings, [email protected]
Bill Steele, Website [email protected]
Kathy [email protected]
Joanne [email protected]
Russell [email protected]
Doug [email protected]
Jared [email protected]
elpoa.ca 13
Recipe of the Month
Strawberry and Peach Rosé SangriaSince it will soon be strawberry season and because I love Rose wine, I thought we’d kick this off withsome sangria to be enjoyed on the dock!Source: What’s Gaby Cooking @whatsgabycookin
Ingredients1/3 cup sugar1/3 cup brandy2 cups sliced strawberries1 cup sliced peaches1 bottle of Rose1 bottle of Sauvignon Blanc1 cup chilled club soda or sparkling water10-20 basil leaves
InstructionsStart this first thing in the morning so it is ready for dock lounging!1. Add the sugar and brandy to a large pitcher and stir until the sugar dissolves.2. Add the fresh fruit, wine and club soda and stir. Add the basil.3. Refrigerator the sangria for at least 6 hours before serving.4. Serve over ice.
If you have any content you would like considered for inclusion, please email [email protected].
Continued from page 2
He saw the problem as quite challenging and,although he provided a quote for a “beaverbaffler” at the largest beaver dam location, it isprohibitively expensive.
In early March, under a small contract withELPOA, a teacher, Wade Leonard, and hisstudents at Granite Ridge Education Centre inSharbot Lake carried out a detailed dronemapping of lower Eagle Creek (
). This added to the work done for theupper part of the creek in the fall of 2017. Themapping and detailed video imaging helps toshow the status and locations of any problembeaver dam spots that might exist on the creek.Access the video at this link.
Water Levels – Continued from page 10
Mike Day and Wade Leonard sighting the drone.
14 Eagle Lake Property Owners’ Association
elpoa.ca 15
Eagle Creek Drone ImagesMarch 18, 2018
Figure 1. Part of a three-dimensional image of a sectionof the middle portion of EagleCreek captured by the drone.Note the considerable amount ofwater retained in Eagle Creekby the extensive beaver dam(see Figure 2).
Figure 2. An enlarged view ofthe quite large beaver dam—noted in Figure 1—that holdsback considerable water. Thearrows point to two breaches inthe dam on March 18, 2018.
I am writing this as we are shifting gears intoanother busy summer. Our beds are almost full andwe have a staff team keen to have fun teachingkids and making friends.
RKY Camp has been proudly delivering atraditional summer camp program for 89 years andcounting. As many camps “modernize” theirprogramming to appeal to different audiences,RKY has “doubled down” on our commitment toremaining a technology free environment wherecampers can learn the fundamentals of makinglifelong friendships and learning new tangibleskills like; the perfect J stroke, matchless firelighting, identify trees and cooking on canoe trips,to name a few. Our parents have expressed theirsatisfaction with this philosophy through oursurvey and conversations throughout the year.
We recently entered into a revitalization campaignto renew RKY’s facilities in order to serve childrenand youth for generations to come. I am happy to
report that this campaign is on track for asuccessful completion. We have seen thecompletion of a number of projects over the pastfew years with more to come. In 2016, we built aparking lot and bus turn around in order to alleviatethe risk and environmental damage vehicle trafficposes to our site and participants. In 2017 weconstructed a new “Waterloo-Biofilter” septicsystem, after a few seasons of stress and payinginvoices, we are happy to say that our new systemis performing excellently and testing well underthe new Ministry of Environment standards forcontaminants. In the spring of last year we werefortunate to have been the successful recipients ofa grant for a new back up power generator. TheChurchill Foundation was generous enough tocover the vast majority of the $18,000 cost. Thisgenerator supports our septic system, watersystems and all power required to operate ouroffice and dining hall. With this improvedinfrastructure, we are able to move forward withthe construction of a new dining hall at RKY as
Hello from RKY D’Arcy Munn
Teaching canoeing at the RKY Camp waterfront.
16 Eagle Lake Property Owners’ Association
well as renovate the existing “Homestead” into ayear round multipurpose program facility. Theeventual completion of these improvements willbe the fall/Winter of 2020/21. I am happy to saythat all of this has been approved by our board ofdirectors with the commitment to not increase thesize of our summer camp program. Our goal is tomaintain the current enrollment while improvingthe experience and culture of the camp. We arehowever, excited to expand our year round outdoorrecreation and leadership programs with the newfacilities and look forward to reporting on this inthe future.
On a personal note, I am quite excited to move upto camp for the summer season with my family(Christie and our baby girl, Violet). We will bemoving into the new RKY director’s cabin(currently under construction) and perhaps stay forquite some time. Christie is an Alumni of RKYand Violet may well be a future camper. We lookforward to seeing everyone at the AGM in July. Inthe mean time, feel free to reach out at any time(613-539-0036 – [email protected]).
Happy camping,D’Arcy Munn – RKY Camp Director
A spring-time wildflower, Early saxifrage (Micranthes virginiensis),growing in the rocky crevices on an island at Eagle Lake in May 2018.
