Batteaux Creek

The Batteaux Creek is the most easterly watershed in the Watershed Trust area of interest. It is a cold water trout stream whose mouth is located just east of that of the Pretty River, near the eastern end of Georgian Manor Drive. It drains a watershed of approximately 5,500 hectares.

Flow path

This moderately-sized watershed flows rapidly down the face of the Niagara Escarpment. It becomes slow and sinuous as it travels by the towns of Duntroon Nottawa and Batteaux. This is a prime lowland agricultural area; fertilizer nutrient runoff is higher.

Aquatic life

Townline Creek is a spawning ground for Rainbow Trout and Chinook Salmon, Brown Trout and Smallmouth Bass at the mouth.

Some of the typical trees found along the Batteaux are Eastern White Pine, Red Pine, Eastern Hemlock, Yellow Birch, Sugar Maple, Red Maple, Red Oak and Basswood.

Enjoyment

The best place to see the Batteaux Creek is adjacent to the rail trail near Nottawa at the junction of Sideroads 33 and 34.

Health check

From the air, one can see that the forest canopy is broken, likely resulting in increased stream temperature, but still has a fairly high groundwater input, making it a significant coldwater habitat. Batteaux Creek suffers from some erosion problems. Residential development has not yet had a significant impact on the Creek, but this may change if the approved Nottawa development is constructed – an aviation centre for chartered flight landing and maintenance.

Agricultural and golf course runoff contribute to high total phosphorus (TP) levels, especially during storm events. These land uses have significantly impacted water quality in Batteaux Creek. Golf courses use pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, as well as fertilizers. All of these have a detrimental impact on fish populations and aquatic life in general. See our 2018 Golf Course Pesticide Report.