The Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority is your public agency dedicated to the preservation of a healthy environment. As your partner, the NVCA provides the expertise to help protect our water, our land, our future.
OUR MISSION
"Working together to value, protect, enhance and restore our watershed resources for a healthy, sustainable future"
To achieve our mission, we have five major objectives to consider, including:
Protect, enhance and restore water
Protect, enhance and restore land
Protect life and property from flooding and erosion
Provide educational and recreational opportunities for the public
Partner with our watershed Municipalities, provincial/federal
agenciesConservation Ontario, and other interested stakeholders
to achieve mutual goals.
OUR VISION: "Conserving our Healthy Waters"
Our watershed is a large geographic area, approximately 3700 sq. km, with jurisdiction in 18 municipalities (watershed map
). Based on the size of the Municipality, a representative(s) is appointed as a member of our Board of Directors. This Board forms our Full Authority and is comprised of 26 members. Our members have a very important role and responsibility to represent the interests of their municipalities, consider the interests and needs of the Conservation Authority, and establish an effective reporting relationship with their municipal council and staff.
The The Board of Directors governs the Authority through the approval of policies and procedures, annual budgets and other business decisions.
To assist in the overall governance of the Authority, members make up three Advisory Committees: Land & Water, Planning, and, Engineering & Technical Services. Our Advisory Committees enhances our communication and awareness with our members, and gives them the opportunity to participate in the business of the authority. The Committees provide advice and recommendations to the Full Authority and Executive Committee.
What is a Conservation Authority?
There are 36 Conservation Authorities in Ontario. They represent a grouping of municipalities on a watershed basis and work in partnership with others to manage their respective watersheds. The
Conservation Authorities Act provides the means by which the province and municipalities of Ontario could join together to form a Conservation Authority within a specific area - the watershed - to undertake programs of natural resource management. Today, Conservation Authorities operate in watersheds in which 90% of the provincial population reside.
Key areas of Authority activity include:
Environmental Protection - The Conservation Authorities of Ontario protect local ecosystems and contribute to the quality of life in communities throughout the province.
Water Resource Managers - The Conservation Authorities are Ontario's community-based environmental experts who use integrated, ecologically sound environmental practices to manage Ontario's water resources on a watershed basis, maintain secure supplies of clean water, protect communities from flooding and contribute to municipal planning processes (that protect water).
Lifelong Learning - The Conservation Authorities of Ontario create educational experiences in a natural environment that enrich the lives of peoples of all ages, by instilling an appreciation and enjoyment of our diverse natural heritage.
What is a watershed?
A watershed is an area of land that catches rain and snow and drains or seeps into a marsh, stream, river, lake or groundwater. Homes, farms, cottages, forests, small towns, big cities and more can make up watersheds. Some cross municipal, provincial and even international borders. They come in all shapes and sizes and can vary from millions of acres, like the land that drains into the Great Lakes, to a few acres that drain into a pond.
What is Watershed Management?
Watershed management in its simplest terms means managing wisely upstream so that downstream remains natural and healthy.