Skating on the Rideau CanalIndustry

Some land is used for industrial purposes along the Ottawa River, and many of industries rely on the river’s water for their operations. Atomic Energy Canada Limited (AECL) has its major research facility, Chalk River Laboratories, on the Ontario shore of the river. A Canadian forces base lies between AECL and Petawawa. Bryson and Portage-du-Fort have pulp and paper mills. The town of Braeside, with its Tembec mill, is a major water user. Industries between Chaudiere Falls and Chats Falls include Goldie Mohr Construction and M.G. MacDonald.

Rideau WatershedThe Rideau River watershed is a unique mix of scenic lakes and forest in cottage country, vast flat farming communities and urban dwellings and businesses.

Within the settlement areas, the land use is generally a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial land uses. Outside of the settlement areas, the land use is predominantly agricultural with some commercial, industrial and other land uses. As a result of the hundreds of lakes and rivers, many significant regions of waterfront development exist. Typically, in waterfront areas closer to the settlement areas the waterfront development is permanent homes. There is also an ongoing shift to redevelop and convert seasonal cottages into permanent homes.

Lièvre WatershedPublic land makes up 78% of the territory within the Lièvre River watershed. Most of this land is situated in the unorganized territories of the northern portion of the watershed. Logging is carried out on close to 75% of the territory, while 17% of the land is used for farming.

Logging, forest management and the wood industry are important activities for the local economy, as is tourism, which also relies on the forest for hunting, fishing and, increasingly, other outdoor activities.

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

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.

South Nation WatershedHistorically the South Nation watershed has suffered considerable environmental degradation as forests were cleared for lumbering in the early 1800s. The South Nation, Castor, and Bear Brook rivers were used for movement and floatation of timber. As agriculture moved in, in the late 1800s many wetlands were converted for farmland. By the early 1900s the South Nation River was dammed at Casselman in order to produce hydroelectric power.

Today lumbering is still carried out using more sustainable forestry methods. Roughly 57% of the watershed is used for farming. Wetlands and forests are important in maintaining and controlling water levels within the river. As both wetlands and forests have become reduced and degraded within the watershed the South Nation River has become increasingly vulnerable to droughts in summer and flooding in the spring.

Sourced from the South Nation Conservation: State of the Nation Report