Your Link to Muskoka's Water!

Canadian Water Network

The Canadian Water Network (CWN) is the conduit that connects researchers with water practitioners, implementers and policy-makers, pooling their resources and uniting expertise to respond to water challenges and contribute to a prosperous and healthy future for generations of Canadians.

The essence of CWN is to bring water research to life.

CWN does this by establishing and supporting multidisciplinary communities of practice that address key challenges in water management across three broad areas — protecting Canada's watersheds and ecosystems, protecting the health of Canadians, and ensuring that Canada has sustainable water infrastructure.

Development of CWN's research programs begins by articulating the needs of end-users, so their research is relevant and outcomes are implemented. Their work influences the national debate on water and their network's expertise is sought to inform water policy and improve water management and stewardship across Canada.

CWN's initiatives engage more than 100 researchers and 200 students across 37 Canadian universities and connect them with more than 100 partners from industry, government and non-governmental organizations.

Canadian Watershed Research Consortium

 
CWN's Canadian Watershed Research Consortium launched its inaugural project in spring 2010. This consortium was formed to provide a venue and mechanism to develop regional environmental frameworks to support watershed management. The initial focus is on developing robust approaches to conducting cumulative effects assessments using a regional-node model, with local watershed-based consortia being launched in different areas of the country and coordinated nationally by CWN.

Muskoka River Watershed Monitoring and Management Consortium

 
The Muskoka River Watershed Monitoring and Management Consortium put out a request for proposals for the development of best practices for a collaborative monitoring program aimed at early detection of cumulative effects as well as predictive models enabling the management of multiple stressors at small and large scales.

A research team, led by Dr. Catherine Eimers, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Trent University, responded to the call for proposals. The proposal titled "Managing the cumulative effects in the Muskoka River watershed: Monitoring, research and predictive modelling," will receive $600,000 from CWN over three years.

Dr. Eimers' research team, involving 10 university and four government scientists across seven universities and institutions, will build a conceptual model, develop physical, biological and chemical indicators and assessment criteria, design a comprehensive monitoring program and predictive models for cumulative effects. Her project will focus on eutrophication and changes to the relative amounts of ions and their effects on crustaceans and algae.

Learn more about the CWN Research Projects.