Cumulative effects in a multi-use watershed

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Nestlé Waters Canada operates a beverage bottling plant in Puslinch, Ontario, that extracts groundwater fromthe Mill Creek watershed. Despite the expectation that there will be negligible effects of this activity on thestream ecosystems, there is a desire to proactively establish biomonitoring that will allow the detection ofecological change so that environmental protection and sustainability is ensured. This Engage Grant will createthe foundation for identifying knowledge gaps and establishing an effective biomonitoring program in a smallwatershed (Mill Creek) that is under the influence of many different human activities, including groundwaterextraction, aggregate extraction, and intensive land use. It will allow the key water users and managers,including Nestlé Waters Canada, to better share and interpret biomonitoring data by placing it in the context ofcumulative effects at the watershed scale. This initial project will support the integration of historical andcurrent biomonitoring data from different sources within a common framework to form the basis forestablishing a more effective Regional Biomonitoring Program in the future.