Townline Creek
Townline Creek is recorded as a significant coldwater habitat by the Ministry of Natural Resources. It is a spawning ground for Rainbow Trout and Chinook Salmon. Townline Creek originates from springs above the Niagara Escarpment brow in the southeastern edge of The Town of Blue Mountains and its watershed covers approximately 2,400 hectares.
Flow path
From the brow to Blue Mountain Resorts’ South Base Lodge, it is heavily forest covered. The stream bed is rock and gravel and has few areas where it runs through open lands on the ski hill. It flows through Blue Mountain Resort in an easterly direction and through Monterra Golf, exiting at County Road 21 (Osler Bluff Road) just south of Monterra Road. From there it runs north along the ditch on the east side of Osler Bluff Road, flowing through the westerly edge of the Provincially Significant Silver Creek Wetland Complex before discharging into Nottawasaga Bay within the Town of Collingwood.
Aquatic life
Townline Creek is a cold water stream and a spawning ground for Rainbow Trout and Coho Salmon.
Enjoyment
Townline Creek is most easily observed along the east side of Osler Bluff Road south of Mountain Road.
Health check
We have monitored Townline Creek since 2007 and found that total phosphorus (TP) and total suspended solids (TSS) are parameters of concern and exceed Provincial Water Quality Objectives (PWQO). Ski resort and golf course runoff are definite factors.
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 {2017 Golf Course Pesticide Report} [LINK to report document] for further details.
Area ski resorts artificially increase the snow load by making snow. This has caused slippages and a recent (2017) 100+ metre landslide, increasing suspended solids and decreasing water quality in the Creek. Ideally, we would like to see resort operators store runoff in a pond system and recycle that water back up the hill, rather than taking water from Georgian Bay. Osler Ski Club does this well.
Monitoring
The Watershed Trust, in partnership with the Grey Sauble and Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authorities, has monitored the surface water quality in Townline Creek since 2007. The purpose of this program is to identify potential impacts of existing and future developments in the Creek’s watershed and to make recommendations to mitigate identified impacts. Water quality in the Creek is compared to Silver Creek, as the proximity to this Creek provides a reasonable reference to a stream of known high quality.