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

1. Shoreline Erosion

To reduce shoreline erosion, speed limits for boats, restoration of shorelines and guidelines for cottagers pertaining to bank protection, are some of the measures available. Since shoreline erosion increases runoff, many problems stem from this: the increase in turbidity affects water quality indicators, and the inflow of excessive amounts of nutrients stimulate the proliferation of cyanobacteria and invasive plants.

2. Control and Prevention of Cyanobacteria

3. Control and Prevention of Invasive Plants

4. Collating Information and Data

5. Surface and Groundwater Quality

Gatineau WatershedFifty streams flow into the Gatineau River. In the northern part of the basin, the main tributaries of the river Gatineau rivers Bazin, to Bleuets, canoeing, Cuckoo, Fortier, Clova, Cabonga, Belinga, Wapus, Land and People Notawassi. In the southern part of the basin, the major rivers of importance are located north of the municipality of La Pêche. These include rivers Tomasini, Ignatius, the Eagle, Quinn, Desert Picanoc, Kazabazua, Joseph and Fishing and streams Stag, Mullin, Daly, Wilson and Woodburn. The extreme south of the basin, including Gatineau Park and the city of Gatineau, is drained by numerous small rivers, streams such as Meech, Blackburn, Chelsea or the Brasserie. These small tributaries drain regions to the south and most densely populated or Kas rivers and fishing and streams Meech and Chelsea.

There are over 19 000 lakes which 650 are listed in municipality territories - the main ones being the Lakes Dumont and Blue Sea, the Little Cedar Lake, the Grand Lake Cedars, Lakes Heney, Pemichangan, Roddick, Cayamant, Sainte-Marie and Thirty-one Thousand and two tanks, and Baskatong Cabonga which occupy the depressions North of the Mercier and Cabonga Dams.

Adapted from COMGA's Gatineau River Watershed Portrait (French only)

Click here - Gatineau Gatineau River, the largest tributary of the Ottawa, drains an area with only a small portion of dense, industrial landuse. For this reason, the river is generally of excellent quality. Nevertheless, the impact of human activities there is undeniable.

The Gatineau River has two water quality sampling stations run by the Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs. Those stations are still active and samples are taken every month. The first station is located in Grand Remous (station 04080223 on the map), Bridge Highway 117, and the second between the Gatineau sector and the municipality of Chelsea, on the Alonzo-Wright bridge (station 04080003).

The water sampled at Grand-Remous could be argued to be close to the water quality found at the source of the Gatineau River since there is very little permanent housing upstream from this point.

Adapté de Portrait du bassin versant de la rivière Gatineau publié par COMGA

Meech Lake, GatineauAverage Flow

The Gatineau River with its 386 kilometres has an average flow of 350 m³/sec at Paugan Power Station.

Hydroelectric Power Stations and Water Flow

The Gatineau River has 4 hydroelectric power stations: Mercier, Paugan, Chelsea and Farmers' Rapids. The origin of the power stations goes back to the beginning of the 20th century. The total production of electricity is approximately 1.5 TWh/yr.

Gatineau HillsThe southern part of the watershed of the river of the Gatineau River is characterized economically by its very dynamic urban sector, the service sector employing nearly 85 % of regional labour force. To the north, the further development of the forestry and tourist industries has been the subject of constant attention by the economic stakeholders, for many years. Agriculture and the forestry industry are the primary sectors present in this part of the territory.

Least bittern / Petit BlongiosThe Gatineau River watershed is an ideal habitat for several species of terrestrial and aquatic wildlife. There are approximately 472 species, including 82 fish species, 18 amphibians, 14 reptiles, 308 birds and 50 mammals.

Gatineau SkylineThe watershed of the Gatineau River has an enormous recreational and tourist potential which lends itself at the same time to the nautical and outdoor activities, cottaging, hunting, fishing, not-with-standing all other related activities. The biggest centers of attraction are Gatineau Park, the Forêt de l’Aigle, La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve (including the Cabonga Reservoir), the Community Wildlife Area of the Baskatong Reservoir as well as the many ZECs and outfitters.