The Medway Creek Watershed Project

• Medway Creek watershed map

• Medway Creek Watershed Report Card (pdf)

• Friends of Medway Creek

• Medway Creek Community-Based Enhancement Strategy:

  • main report (9 mb)

  • appendices (2 mb)

• Dams & Barriers factsheet

Medway Creek is one of 28 subwatersheds in the Upper Thames River watershed. The Medway Creek watershed is 205 km² and encompasses parts of the City of London, the Municipalities of Middlesex Centre, Thames Centre and the Township of Lucan Biddulph.

The headwaters of Medway begin north of Highway #7 (Elginfield Road) around Granton, and the creek outlets to the North Branch of the Thames River, by the University of Western Ontario in London. Other tributaries that flow into Medway Creek include Cook Drain, Elginfield Drain, Edgewood Drain, White-Fitzgerald Drain, Risdon Drain, Mills-Guest Drain, Colbert Drain and Snake Creek.

In 2008, the Friends of Medway Creek was established to help implement restoration activities and environmental initiatives that improve the health of the Medway Creek watershed. The group includes representatives from the Ontario Archaeology Museum, Thames Valley Trail Association, Township of Lucan Biddulph, and concerned landowners and farmers.

The mission statement of the Friends of Medway Creek is "Community members promoting the protection and improvement of the Medway Creek Watershed."

Medway High School students with their newly planted tree at Weldon Park, November 2008

Over the next few months, the group will develop an action plan that makes recommendations and identifies top community priorities for restoration work. This strategy will help to target work in high need areas of the watershed.

Past Projects

Funding from the London Community Foundation and TD Friends of the Environment Foundation enabled the Friends of Medway Creek to accomplish several projects.

• 90 students from local schools planted 310 native trees and shrubs at Weldon Park (Arva) and at a private landowner's property in Birr

• 40 students from local secondary schools participated in environmental monitoring and a habitat assessment of Snake Creek

• A dam may be mitigated to allow for fish passage

Monitoring of Species at Risk in Medway Creek is also underway through funds from the London Community Foundation and Environment Canada's Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk.

Watershed Features

• 83% of the land is used for agriculture. A large portion of the soils in the watershed are silt and clay loams.

• 11.6% of the watershed is vegetated. The main vegetative cover is deciduous forest, followed by meadow. 34% of the riparian zone (a 30 m buffer on both sides of a watercourse) is in permanent vegetation (forest + meadow).

• The Arva Moraine Wetlands Complex is a provincially significant wetland. Three other wetlands are locally significant.

• The total length of the watercourse is 214 km. 30% of the watercourse is natural, 49% is channelized (municipal drain) and 21% is buried (tile drain).

• Groundwater is a source of drinking water in a large portion of the watershed, including a municipal water system in Birr. Groundwater supports wetlands, forests and streams; approximately 65% of local stream flow is fed by groundwater.

• 46 fish and 13 freshwater mussel species have been recorded in Medway Creek. Gamefish include Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike and Rainbow Trout. Most of the watercourse has a higher average temperature, which supports warmwater species.

Oakridge Secondary School students check out their benthic sample from Snake Creek, October 2008

Project Partners and Sponsors

• City of London

• Environment Canada Habitat Stewardship Program for Species At Risk

• London Community Foundation

• Municipality of Middlesex Centre

• Municipality of Thames Centre

• Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

• Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources

• Ontario Ministry of the Environment

• Ontario Soil & Crop Improvement Association

• TD Friends of the Environment Foundation

• Township of Lucan Biddulph

• Upper Thames River Conservation Authority

• Many interested landowners and citizens

FOR MORE INFORMATION

If you would like more information, a presentation made to your group, to sponsor an aspect of the project or to get involved, please contact , Community Partnerships Specialist (phone: 519-451-2800 ext. 255).

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