Stakeholder Meeting and Draft Report open for comment

The final stakeholder meeting for the Echo Lake causation study took place on Tuesday, November 29, 2022 via Zoom - thank you to those who were able to participate in the live meeting!

If you were not able to join the live meeting, we have made the video recording of the meeting available below. Please note that the presentation slide shown in the recorded meeting titled “Phosphorus Budget” near the 27:20 mark should be replaced with the slide titled “Revised Slide - Echo Lake Phosphorus Budget” located in the “Related Documents” section of this page.

The draft report is also posted in the “Related Documents” section of this page (located to the right).

I have feedback that I want to provide. How do I submit comments?

The Muskoka Official Plan contains Lake System Health policies. Within these policies, a lake is considered vulnerable if a lake experiences a water quality indicator (i.e. blue green algae bloom). The purpose of a Causation Study is to determine if shoreline or watershed development contributed to the water quality indicator and what additional studies or actions may be warranted by stakeholders to ensure water quality is enhanced in the long term.

You can email your comments directly to Cassie Emms, Planner at cassie.emms@muskoka.on.ca.

While we appreciate the ongoing data collection by stakeholders, for the purpose of the causation study, the data analysis is complete and new data will not be incorporated.

The commenting period closes on January 13, 2023.

Next Steps

The project team will review and consider the stakeholder comments provided at the meetings as well as those submitted in writing. It was originally anticipated that the final reports would be posted by end of 2022, however given high stakeholder interest and amount of comments to date, the final reports will be published in early 2023.

District staff will review individual causation study results, as well as identify any trends, patterns, or themes across all five concurrent studies. Ultimately, the results of causation studies will not only identify the cause of the water quality indicator on a specific lake, but will also inform the Muskoka Official Plan Lake System Health Policies. These policies are continually updated based on the best available science to protect water quality and overall lake health.

District staff will review the results of these five causation studies, and provide policy update recommendations to the District’s Community and Planning Services Committee for consideration in early 2023.

Learn more and Stay Informed!

To learn more about causation studies, visit our Engage Muskoka platform at: www.engagemuskoka.ca/protecting-muskokas-vulnerable-lakes-causation-studies

To stay informed of the causation studies that are of interest to you, including a notification of when the final reports are published, subscribe to the Engage Muskoka project page.