A new watershed management plan has been released by a technical working group for the Shediac Bay watershed in New Brunswick.
The plan’s purpose is to characterize the state of the watershed, identify issues of concern regarding water quality, and establish goals and actions that will help improve and protect the water quality in the long-term.
“We are very excited for the release of this integrated watershed management plan,” said Jolyne Hébert, executive manager of the Shediac Bay Watershed Association. “It is the first of its kind for the province of New Brunswick and we have high hopes for continued collaboration among the stakeholders in our area. This has been a long but important process, and we would like to thank all the partners involved in the making of this new strategy for the Shediac Bay watershed.”
The reports contain 26 recommendations, which include:
- Establishing a watershed management plan implementation committee made up of local representatives who have access to technical experts.
- Collaborate with partners on similar/overlapping initiatives.
- Acknowledge landowners who implement beneficial management practices that will help reduce nutrients and bacteria in the watershed.
- Reduce bacteria (E. coli and Enterococcus) in the watershed originating from human activities.
The complete list of recommendations is available online. The plan is not regulatory in nature.
“We believe in working collaboratively with local residents to ensure the Shediac Bay watershed area, and Parlee Beach, continues to have good water quality,” said Environment and Climate Change Minister Gary Crossman. “The first step in the collaborative approach to creating a management plan was to get local feedback by undertaking a public, stakeholder and First Nation engagement program and the formation of a technical working group that developed the plan.”
The Parlee Beach Water Quality: Shediac, New Brunswick Final Report, released in 2018, identified the need for a management plan to improve water quality in the watershed (i.e., the freshwaters that drain into Shediac Bay). This will, in turn, help protect and improve water quality at Parlee Beach.
