Lakeside Living

Boating
Erosion Control Tips
Septic Systems

Boating

• Handle oil, gasoline, transmission fluid, and antifreeze carefully on your boat.
• Avoid Over filling the fuel tank.
• Reduce your speed when you drive your boat close to shore
• On shallow lakes, make sure that boat propellers do not stir up sediment. Sediment is rich in phosphorus, which can fertilize the lake.
• Wipe up any spills from oil changes when they occur. A single litre of oil, when spilled, can create a slick of up to one hectare - an area equal to almost three football fields.
• Reduce unnecessary use of inboard and outboard motors.  Whenever possible, use human or wind-powered boats like kayaks, canoes, sailboats or windsurfers.
• Always be careful when using petroleum products around water - even in small quantities they can be toxic to aquatic life.  Dispose of used oil and antifreeze at a marina, gas station or recycling centre.
• When your boat is being scraped or sanded, place a drop cloth underneath the boat to catch the old paint scrapings and dust and place them in the garbage. Ask your marina to follow this practice if they do the work for you.
• Never throw garbage overboard or leave it at the beach - this debris can harm or kill wildlife.  It can also endanger boaters because plastic rings, straps and bags can foul propellers and clog intake valves.
• Use pumpout facilities for emptying on board holding tanks.  If your marina does not already have a pumpout station, encourage them to install one.
• To wash your boat, use phosphate-free cleaners.  It is important to clean your boat's hull, propeller and trailer if you are using it in different waterbodies.  This will prevent the accidental introduction of non-native aquatic plants and zebra mussels that may reproduce in uncontrolled numbers and alter the water habitat.
• When boating, do not produce a wake close to shore as this contributes to shoreline erosion.  Observe posted speed limits.
• Do not allow children or pets to urinate or defecate in the water or on the beach. Take your children to restrooms and obey "poop and scoop" bylaws.
• Encourage your municipality to maintain several restrooms and garbage containers along the shore.
• Take all your garbage, including food leftovers and packaging back to shore. Collect any garbage that other people have left behind.

Erosion Control Tips

• Don’t cut vegetation at the shoreline edge.
• Keep cars, heavy loads and grazing animals away from stream banks, riverbanks and lakeshores.
• Do not dam up or pump small streams dry.  Do not fill ditches and other watercourses with garbage, brush and other vegetation or fill.  Conservation Authority permits are required for any fill, construction and alteration to watercourses or along shorelines within defined regulated areas.
• Don't build on steep slopes.  Leave them in a condition as close to "natural" as possible.
• Avoid clearcutting the existing trees and vegetation on your property.  Law restricts the removal of vegetation in shoreline areas.  To prevent erosion and protect adjacent ecosystems retain (or replant) trees and vegetation along watercourses and shorelines. Use native grasses and shrubs that thrive under natural rainfall conditions.
• Immediately stabilize (plant grass and shrubs or place riprap) and mulch disturbed soil.
• Limit the area of disturbed soil.  Bare soils are easily eroded.
• Install filter fabric fences on slopes below construction, preferably where runoff will be intercepted before it concentrates into channelled flow.  These fences help remove fine and coarse soil particles from the runoff.  Inspect and maintain them regularly.
• Seed, sod, or riprap (depending on steepness of grade) artificial waterways and roadside ditches.  Keep in mind that watercourses and ditches too small to handle peak flows will be washed out during major storms and become a lasting erosion problem.
• Use untreated wood decking (cedar, redwood), bricks or interlocking stones set in sand for walkways and patios.  They allow water to filter gradually into the soil unlike concrete or asphalt.

Septic Systems

• If you are considering purchasing a home, have a trained professional look for indications of a failing septic system.  If there is a problem, you may need to improve or upgrade the existing septic system. 
• Know the location of all the components of your septic system and keep heavy vehicles, large shrubs and trees away from these areas.
• Check the sludge level in your septic tank yearly and have a reputable contractor remove sludge and scum every 3-5 years - depending on how much the system is used.
• Dispose of household chemicals properly - do not pour them down the toilet or drain.  They can destroy the bacteria that help decompose sewage.
• Avoid using garborators and other food waste disposal systems that contribute unnecessary solids and grease to your septic system.
• Use a wastebasket in the bathroom.  Unnecessary solids flushed down the toilet can reduce a septic system's efficiency.
• Resist the temptation to use septic system additives and have your septic system pumped out when needed.

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