Help Your Land Thrive
Did you know over 80 per cent of the land in the Credit River Watershed is privately owned? Rural landowners play a vital role in strengthening nature on their properties and improving the health and resilience of the Credit River Watershed for all.
While life in the countryside offers many rewards, including peaceful landscapes and a deeper connection to nature, maintaining a rural property comes with responsibilities. Wells, septic systems and woodlots all require regular attention to protect health, investments and the surrounding environment.
Rural landowners face important decisions when maintaining their properties, which is why we support landowners with expert advice and resources for caring for wells, septic systems, and woodlots, making it easier to protect your property and local waterways.
Wells
Most rural properties don’t have access to municipal drinking water systems. Instead, drinking water is drawn from local groundwater sources through private wells.
The condition of a well can influence the safety and quality of drinking water. This includes the risk of bacterial contamination and pollutants. Rural property owners must consider several key questions, including whether their well meets current standards, is adequately sealed and maintained and how frequently water quality testing is required.
Regular testing and proper maintenance can help identify issues early and ensure safe, reliable drinking water for households.
Septic Systems
Most rural properties don’t have access to municipal wastewater systems either. To manage their wastewater, rural landowners have septic systems.
Poorly maintained septic systems can pose risks to human health, groundwater and nearby waterways.
Urban residents may not give much thought to wastewater system failures, however, homeowners with septic systems must carefully manage what goes down the drain, keep their systems properly maintained and consider what plants grow near leaching bed components. Septic system owners must be proactive stewards of both their system and the surrounding environment—making informed maintenance and land use decisions.
Woodlots
Many rural properties have woodlots for recreational enjoyment or as an additional source of income. Woodlots provide the same ecosystem benefits as a forest on public lands: they clean the air and water, store carbon and provide habitat for wildlife.
Keeping woodlots healthy and able to provide these benefits requires ongoing monitoring and active management. Woodlots, especially monoculture plantations, need additional support to protect them from invasive species, disease and other challenges associated with a changing climate.
Woodlot owners must consider risks such as wildfire, pests, storm damage and liability associated with trails or recreational use. Proactive management helps reduce long term risks.
Online Assessment Tools
In response to requests from rural landowners for more digital resources, we’ve developed three online, self-guided assessment tools for wells, septic systems and woodlots. These tools help landowners understand the conditions of these assets and how to keep them healthy. These free and easy-to-use tools provide recommended actions to protect individual wells, septic systems and woodlots, while improving the quality of living for both humans and wildlife.
And these tools are already having an impact. Since launching them last year, rural landowners have completed more than 100 assessments. Join them by exploring these tools and taking action on your rural property. Try the tools for your own personalized asset management recommendations or connect with us to get started.
Stewardship in Action
Funding programs and landowner services are also available to implement the stewardship recommendations from the tools, helping landowners turn assessment insights into meaningful improvements on the ground:
- Septic system repair, upgrade or decommission
- Well upgrade or decommission
- Tree and shrub planting
- Small-scale plantation thinning
- And more!
For more about rural living and caring for your land and water, read and subscribe to our Countryside Stewardship Mail newsletter.
By Eva Thorpe, Technician, Environmental Outreach and Communications