City Stream Watch – The Hunt Club Creek

Did you know that we have a beautiful creek winding its way through our neighbourhood?  It’s called the Hunt Club Creek It flows from the Department of National Defense (DND) lands bordering Hunt Club Road to the Ottawa Golf Course, then comes up at Uplands Drive near Country Club Drive, continues past Gillespie Crescent to Riverside Drive and then past Rivergate Place through NCC lands right to the Rideau River. Check out details compiled by John Sankey on the HCCA website at https://hunt-club.ca/community/history/hunt-club-creek/

The Hunt Club Community Association has renewed its adoption of the Hunt Club Creek with the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA).  The Hunt Club Creek was originally adopted in 2013, under John Sankey’s Presidency, John has decided to step down from his role of stream watcher after a number of years of surveying the creek.

HCCA will be putting together a team of stream watchers in the spring. The HCCA participated in an official Stream Watch with the RVCA in 2019. These in-depth surveys are done every 6 years so the next one will not be until 2025. In the meantime, under the terms of the adoption, HCCA must complete a stream watch at least once a year. What does this involve? As suggested by the RVCA, this can involve walking or wading along the stream and observing the stream and banks and documenting any significant changes such as increased erosion or pollution from the previous year. Also, the stream watchers may bag and remove any minor refuse encountered along the way. This fall I walked the whole length of the stream, except the golf course portion and noticed the culvert leading under Hunt Club Road was totally blocked, resulting in the creek in that area being totally stagnant. I informed the city at 311 and Councillor Brockington and a service request was made resulting in having the culvert cleared.

Would you be interested in being a stream watcher for the Hunt Club Creek?
Contact me at: vp@hunt-club.ca.