2012 Forks Report Card.pdf

Upper Thames River Watershed Report Card for The Forks:
The Forks watershed is 8,800 ha, 3% of the Upper Thames watershed, with 81% urban, 11% natural, and 5% agricultural land use.
The population was 182,800 in 2011.
Soil erosion and delivery are not calculated due to urbanization.
Stream flow measured near Byron was 46.1 cubic meters per second from 2006-2010.
There are four barriers, including the Springbank Dam, and several sewage treatment plants.
143 spills were reported from 2006-2010, mostly involving fuels and industrial chemicals.
Vegetation cover is 11.4%, with 8.2% forest cover, which is lower than the Upper Thames average.
59 fish species and 24 freshwater mussel species were recorded, including species at risk like the Bald Eagle and American Badger.
The watershed experienced extreme weather patterns from 2006-2011, including droughts and floods.
Forest conditions indicators score a D, with low forest cover and interior, but riparian zone forested is close to the target.
Surface water quality indicators also score a D, with high phosphorus and bacteria levels, but some improvement in phosphorus levels.
Overall grades are D for both forest conditions and surface water quality, with a steady trend.