About LPRCA
Long Point Region Conservation Authority (LPRCA) is one of 36 Conservation Authorities in Ontario. Our area of responsibility – the Long Point Region watershed – covers 2,782 square kilometres and is home to approximately 99,000 people.
Since 1948, LPRCA and its predecessors, Big Creek Region Conservation Authority (1948-1970) and Otter Creek Conservation Authority (1954-1970), have been empowered through provincial legislation to manage the watershed’s natural resources in partnership with our member municipalities and the Province of Ontario.
To learn more about Conservation Authorities, visit Conservation Ontario’s website.
Our Vision
Working together to shape the future well-being of our watershed.
Our Mission
LPRCA is committed to collaborating with partners, residents and users to:
-
- Deliver excellent services and experiences;
- Protect, advance and rejuvenate the watershed; and
- Optimize the health and well-being of the watershed through education and best practices.
Our Values
Innovation
Leveraging technology to optimize operations and streamline processes essential to our success.
Accountability
Adhering to the highest standard of professional and corporate responsibility.
Communication
Listening to the needs of those we serve in order to serve and support them.
Teamwork
Working internally and externally together to serve others.
LPRCA’s values spell out our commitment to leading by example and improving the watershed, in the form of a personal declaration: I ACT
To learn more about LPRCA’s goals and ambitions, take a look through our Strategic Plan.
More about us
What is a watershed?
Like all of Ontario’s Conservation Authorities, LPRCA is uniquely organized on a watershed basis. A watershed is an area of land that drains to a common point, in most cases a stream, river or lake. Conservation Authorities use these watershed boundaries to help protect Ontario’s environment and resources. Watersheds are not based on municipal boundaries, but rather on the elevation or the natural contours of the land.
In a watershed, everything is connected and everyone is someone’s downstream neighbour. No matter where you live, work or play, you are part of a watershed and your behaviour can and does affect those around you. The actions we take around our homes and in our neighbourhoods impact the watershed in which we live.
The Long Point Region watershed
The Long Point Region watershed takes in an area drained by more than 30 creeks and tributaries. These creeks drain an area of 2,782 sq. km (1,080 sq miles) in portions of Brant, Elgin, Haldimand, Norfolk and Oxford counties.
Major communities include Port Burwell and Straffordville in Elgin County; Norwich and Tillsonburg in Oxford County; Delhi, Waterford, Simcoe and Port Dover in Norfolk County; and Jarvis and Hagersville in Haldimand County.
The watershed has been divided into six main subwatershed areas: Big Otter Creek, South Otter/Clear Creek, Big Creek, Dedrick/Young/Hay Creek, Lynn River/Black Creek and Nanticoke/Sandusk/Stoney Creek. All of the subwatersheds drain directly into Lake Erie.
Quick Facts:
-
- The Long Point Region watershed is located in southwestern Ontario, being almost 100km at its widest and 60km running north to south.
- The watershed includes approximately 200 km of Lake Erie shoreline, including the internationally renowned Long Point sand spit.
- The combined length of all streams and tributaries in the watershed is over 3,700 km.
- There are 3 major physiographic regions in the watershed: the Norfolk Sand Plain, the Haldimand Clay Plain and the Horseshoe Moraine/Mount Elgin Ridges.
- The Long Point Region has amongst the highest density of Provincial Permits To Take Water. Most of these permits are for agricultural irrigation.
- The Long Point wetland complex, which includes the wetlands at the mouth of Big Creek, covers 75 square kilometres on its own. This wetland is internationally recognized under the Ramsar Convention and as the Long Point Biosphere Reserve.
- The Long Point Region watersheds fall within the Deciduous Forest Region of Canada, also known as the Carolinian Forest Zone. There are significant forest pockets that include species such as Tulip tree, Black Gum, Sassafras, Black Oak, and Cucumber Tree. These tree species are rare in Canada and occur naturally only in southern parts of Ontario north of Lake Erie.
- There are 85 species at risk found in the Long Point Region watershed area, including 14 reptiles and amphibians, 30 birds and insects, 14 fish and mollusks, 23 plants and mosses and 4 mammals.
