Staff Feature: The Carruthers Creek Watershed Plan Team

July 27, 2020

In March 2020, TRCA released the Carruthers Creek Watershed Plan for public review.  This was a multi-year, multi-disciplinary project that takes watershed-scale monitoring data and scientific analysis and translates this into management recommendations for what is needed to achieve watershed health given anticipated urban growth and climate change.  The project required significant efforts from staff across the organization, including project management and technical staff largely from the Development and Engineering Services Division, as well as significant contributions, input, and feedback from many staff in other divisions.

Project Description

Watershed planning has various stages, requiring different staff expertise.  The first stage involves the collection of data to establish the state of watershed conditions.  Staff in the Terrestrial Inventories and Monitoring and Aquatic Monitoring and Management business subunits collected data and then synthesized this information into watershed characterization reports.  Then Ecosystem and Climate Science, Oak Ridges Moraine Groundwater Program, and Capital Projects staff assessed how these watershed conditions might change under future land use and climate change scenarios.  Staff from Business Intelligence and Data Analytics and Integrated Restoration provided additional technical and geospatial analysis and information.  Finally, project management staff from Watershed Planning & Reporting, with assistance from Government and Community Relations used this information to develop the management framework and the watershed plan itself to guide TRCA and partner action to achieve a healthy Carruthers Creek watershed.

Congratulations are extended to all staff who assisted with the development of this important document!  Here are some of the faces and names, but there are many more – thanks to them all!

1. Namrata Shrestha
2. Neil Taylor
3. Tony Morris
4. Jonathan Ruppert
5. David Lawrie
6. Paul Prior
7. Parth Sheth
8. Cameron Richardson
9. Lyndsay Cartwright
10. Gavin Miller