The Bay of Quinte is a long,…

The Bay of Quinte is a long, narrow Z-shaped embayment located on the northeastern shore of Lake Ontario.
The system has long suffered from water quality problems, including harmful algal blooms, bacterial contamination, fish toxicity, taste and odour problems as a result of decades of cultural eutrophication. In 1985, the Water Quality Board of the International Joint Commission (IJC) identified the Bay of Quinte as an Area of Concern (AOC), as defined by the Canada-United States Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, due to the fact that water quality in the area had deteriorated and the derived beneficial uses of the water were considered impaired.
Currently, of the 11 beneficial use impairments (BUIs), originally identified for the Bay of Quinte, eight (8) BUIs are assessed to be restored due to restoration efforts, such as reduction of nutrient, bacterial, and toxic loads originating from the Bay of Quinte watershed. Two of the remaining BUIs (persist mainly due to high levels of phosphorus encountered in the bay.
Despite the decreases in phosphorus loads made to date, the amount of phosphorous in the bay continues to be at a level that contributes to outbreaks of algae (both toxic and non-toxic) mainly due to legacy based internal nutrient loading. As a result, the Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan (BQRAP) developed a “Phosphorus Management Plan” to ensure long-term protection of the bay’s water quality, in order to reduce harmful algae blooms and still maintain a healthy food-web and sustainable fishery.
A key action recommended in the long-term Phosphorus Management Plan to achieve long-term phosphorus targets is to: reduce urban non-point stormwater phosphorus loadings by 50%. The current loading estimate for stormwater inputs is 6.8 metric tons of TP per year. This can be accomplished through adoption and implementation of existing recommended Pollution Prevention Control Plans, enhanced stormwater management controls, retrofits, and use of Low Impact Development technologies.
The proposed 50% phosphorus loading reductions can be achieved by recommending that all new stormwater management facilities adopt Tier-1 or Enhanced protection level as per the Stormwater Planning and Design Manual (MECP, 2003), which calls for at least 80% long-term suspended solids removal. This is because, the studies done in the Bay of Quinte watershed identified that more than 80% of the Total Phosphorus are in the form of Particulate Phosphorus.
In the absence of the oversight provided by Environmental Compliance Approvals, it will be challenging to ensure that stormwater management facilities in these areas will achieve requirements to meet the targets of the Phosphorus Management Plan. As a result, it is recommended that stormwater management facilities covered by the Bay of Quinte Phosphorus Management Plan not be eligible for the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry and that they continue to be managed through Environmental Compliance Approvals.