MLA Stewardship Program Protecting Water Quality in Muskoka

The MLA works to improve water quality across the Muskoka through monitoring, remedial actions and encouraging stewardship. 

Our stewardship program supports local lake or bay communities whose members have come together and are concerned about water quality in their immediate area. Our goal is to encourage these groups of neighbours in life-long stewardship of our valuable water resource. 

We will come out and speak to your group about any or all of the following:

• Water quality in Muskoka
• Our water quality monitoring program
• The effects of phosphorus on our water
• Stewardship practices and specific stewardship projects other groups are undertaking

We can help you in a number of ways to get started. We offer workshops on water quality and stewardship that you can invite your group to attend. We provide information that detail things like best septic practices and shoreline restoration among others. Modest financial resources are available to help groups that have a specific stewardship project in mind.  

Our other role is to act as an experienced resource about water quality in Muskoka. In this capacity we can provide you with referrals, as appropriate, to individuals at the District of Muskoka (DMM), municipal officials, environmental agencies and other local resources as indicated by your group’s specific situation. 

The MLA has set up a process that your group can follow to get started on setting up a stewardship program for your area. The first steps are as follows: 

Organize a group of neighbours that live on a stretch of shoreline and establish a communication system among yourselves. Gather addresses and contact information. We recommend that at least three people be committed to the project at the outset 

• Agree on the primary interest of the group in establishing a local stewardship program
• Define the area that your group represents: 

1. Identify the shoreline your group represents via map or sketch
2. Approximate number of cottages along this shoreline
3. Expected level of participation of these cottages in the prgram
4. Indicate how many are MLA members (check MLA Yearbook)

• Develop a brief written profile of your water area. Describe both the local geography and the land uses that affect your water quality such as nearby road construction, known septic issues, shoreline issues, commercial uses, resorts, historic effects, etc.
• Contact the MLA. Indicate what kind of assistance you are looking for and we will be able to meet with you to discuss what you know about your area in more detail.

Please contact us at:  

Email: admin@mla.on.ca
MLA – Water Quality Stewardship Request
65 Joseph Street, Box 298, Port Carling, P0B 1J0
Tel: 705-765-5723
Fax: 705-765-3203