Ottawa RiverWe all live in watersheds. Watersheds are areas of land made up of forests, wetlands, rivers, lakes, groundwater, wildlife and natural areas – all connected by the water cycle. In a watershed, what happens upstream in one community or in one home, affects conditions downstream. The health of our watersheds is reflected in the health of things such as the availability and quality of our water, habitats for wildlife, forests and wetlands.

Click on your watershed below and explore the water where you live:

• How much water flows in your local river? How clean is it?
• Where does your water come from and how is it treated ?
• What type of wildlife lives nearby?
• Where are the local fishing spots, hiking trails, beaches, or conservation areas?
• Where does sewage go, and where does it end up?
• What are the local sources of pollution?

Adapted from Conservation Ontario's Creating a Climate for Change Calendar

Ottawa River WatershedThe Ottawa River watershed, shown on the image to the right, is a secondary (second-order) watershed. The five watersheds within are tertiary (third-order) watersheds. All of these watersheds are included within the primary watersheds (will open in a new window).

Kitche-sippi, the Great River, was the original name given by Algonquin First Nations people who lived on its banks. The river was the first highway for the Algonquin people, giving them access to the resources of the wilderness and the means to trade them.

The Ottawa River is the second largest river the Eastern Canada. It stretches for 1271km and drains an area of 146,300km2. The Ottawa River watershed is a part of the Great Lakes St Lawrence watershed - the largest freshwater ecosystem in the world! The Ottawa River is the largest tributary of the St Lawrence River, and so the health of the Ottawa River directly effects the health of the St Lawrence River.

The Ottawa River begins deep in Québec just outside La Vérendrye Wildlife Refuge, flowing from here into Lake Temiskaming, then it runs all the way to the St Lawrence in the East along the border of Québec and Ontario until it reaches Montreal. 

 Gatineau Watershed

The Gatineau River Watershed is located in the Southwest of the province of Quebec. It is surrounded by Lièvre to the East, Coulonge to the West, and Saint-Maurice to the North.

• Drainage Area: 40 254 km2
• General Direction Flow: Southerly
• Headwaters: Near Parent, in the Haute-Mauricie region.
• Confluence: The Ottawa River at the Pointe-Gatineau sector of the city of Gatineau.
• Towns and Cities: The watershed touches five administrative regions, the principal ones being la Mauricie, les Laurentides and the Outaouais regions.
• Approximate Population: 96, 366 inhabitants (over half live in the City of Gatineau)
• Total Length: ~520 km
• Elevation: 490 metres
• Average Flow: 350m3/sec (Paugan Power Station)
  
• Predominant Land Use: More than 80% forested
• Rivers and Tributaries: The Gatineau River watershed is composed of eight secondary watersheds: River and Desert Lakes, Kazabazua, and Gens de Terre Rivers, Thirty-one Mile Lake, Cabonga Basin, Petawaga, Clova and Bazin Lakes. Some 50 rivers run into the Gatineau River.
• Lakes: More than 19,000. The Principle ones are Dumont Lake, Blue Sea, Petit Lac des Cedres, Grand Lac des Cedres, Heney, Pemichangan, Roddick, Cayamant, Sainte-Marie andThirty-one Mile Lake; and two reservoirs, Baskatong and Cabonga.

Adapted from COMGA's Summary of the Gatineau River Watershed Portrait

Lièvre WatershedThe Lièvre River watershed is a sub-basin of the Ottawa River.

• Drainage Area: approximately 9542 km2
• General Direction Flow: Southerly
• Headwaters: Head Lake, situated at the very North of the watershed
• Confluence: The Ottawa River at the Masson-Angers section of the City of Gatineau
• Municipalities: 28
• Approximate Population: 38,841
  
• Total Length:330km in length
• Predominant Land Cover: Forest (75%)
• Predominant Land Use: Forestry and agriculture
• Rivers and Tributaries: Mitchinamecus, Kiamika et Sourd rivers

The watershed is bound by the Gatineau River watershed to the West, the Petite Nation River to the South, and the Rouge River watershed to the North East. The area which drains the LièvreRiver watershed crosses three administrative regions. The Laurentides region is the most important with an area of 81% of the watershed, the Ottawa region is second with 13% of the watershed, and finally the Lanaudière region makes up 6% of the territory of the watershed.

Adapted from "Pour la qualité de l'eau du bassin versant de la Lièvre: PORTRAIT" (French only), published by Comité du bassin versant de la rivière du Lièvre (COBALI), 2005.

Mississippi WatershedThe Mississippi River watershed is located in southeastern Ontario and is composed of a complex network of rivers, streams, rapids, and over 250 lakes.

• Drainage Area: 4450 sq. km
• General Direction Flow: Northerly
• Headwaters: Kilpecker Creek, in the Township of Addington Highlands
• Confluence: The Ottawa River in the City of Ottawa.
• Towns and Cities: 11 municipalities (Township of Addington Highlands, Township of North Frontenac, Township of Central Frontenac, Townships of Tay Valley, Township of Lanark Highlands, Township of Drummond/North Elmsley, Township of Beckwith, Town of Carleton Place, Town of Mississippi Mills, Township of Greater Madawaska, City of Ottawa).
• Total Length: 212 km in length
• Elevation: begins at an elevation of 325 m (1,066 ft) in the west and drops 252m (827 feet) gradually towards the east to an elevation of 73 m (240 ft) at the outlet to Ottawa River.

Rideau WatershedThe Rideau River flows through Eastern Ontario, Canada. From its beginning at Upper Rideau Lake the River flows north until the Ottawa River at Ottawa, Canada's capital. It passes through varied landscapes, which are at first forested and agricultural but become increasingly developed.

• Drainage Area: over 4,000 square kilometres of Eastern Ontario
• General Direction of Flow: Northerly
• Headwaters: Upper Rideau Lake near Newboro
• Confluence: At Rideau Falls it flows into the Ottawa River.
• Towns and Cities: 18 Municipalities including; Ottawa, Portland, Perth, Smiths Falls, Merrickville, Kemptville, and Manotick.
• Approximate Population: 620,000 people including a large part of the City of Ottawa.
• Total Length: The longest part of the watershed is about 180 km.
• Elevation: 204 m.
• Predominant Land Cover: Forestry (an estimated 40% of the watershed)
• Predominant Land Use: Agricultural, include dairy, beef and cash crop farming.
• Rivers and Tributaries: Rideau River, Kemptville Creek, Jock River, Tay River, Rideau Lakes.
  
• Original Settlement: Around 1790
• Other: At Newboro, an artificial canal was constructed by Colonel By in 1832 to connect the north flowing Rideau with the south flowing Cataraqui system to create the Rideau Canal. Its original purpose was defence against American attack but now serves as a major navigational and recreational boating waterway.

South Nation Watershed

• Drainage Area: 3900 km2
• General Direction Flow: Northeast
• Headwaters: North of Brockville
• Confluence: The Ottawa River near the village of Plantagenet
• Towns and Cities: 15 municipalities
• Approximate Population:
• Total Length:175km in length
• Elevation: 85 metres
• Predominant Land Cover:
• Predominant Land Use: 57% agriculture
• Rivers and Tributaries: South Nation, Bear Brook, Scotch, Castor and Payne rivers.
• Original Settlement:
• Percentage Water Source: Roughly 60% of the water in the South Nation River is fed by groundwater sources
• Other: High sediment loads caused by stream bank erosion give the water a natural brownish colour.