Kawartha Conservation Declares Level 1 Low Water Condition

On August 14, 2025, Kawartha Conservation declared a Level 1 Low Water Condition across the watershed, asking residents, businesses, and municipalities to reduce water use by 10% to help protect water supplies and aquatic ecosystems.

Conditions

Over the past three months, precipitation has dropped to 72% of the seasonal norm, while frequent daytime highs of 25–30°C have accelerated evaporation, further reducing surface water. This combination of low rainfall and high heat has stressed surface water levels, slowed groundwater recharge, and impacted aquatic health. Many local streams are now flowing below the minimum summer levels established by Kawartha Conservation. With forecasts calling for continued warm, dry weather, these conditions are expected to persist in the coming weeks. Municipalities within the affected area include the City of Kawartha Lakes, Township of Scugog, Township of Brock, Municipality of Trent Lakes, Township of Cavan Monaghan, and the Municipality of Clarington.

Water Conservation Actions

Residents, businesses, and municipalities can help by:

• Adhering to municipal/regional water restrictions and by-laws.
• Avoiding non-essential water use (e.g., washing driveways, decks, vehicles).
• Watering gardens in early morning or late evening; using rain barrels or storage where possible.
• Letting lawns go dormant (brown) until conditions improve.
• Monitoring and reducing indoor water use.
• Aim to reduce water use by 10%.

Kawartha Conservation is a part of the Ontario Low Water Response Program that was developed to ensure the Province was prepared for low water conditions. The response plan is to help coordinate and support local response in the event of a drought. There are three levels of Low Water Conditions: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 being the most severe. The program requires Conservation Authorities to collect precipitation data, stream flow data, and groundwater level data to properly understand the conditions within our watershed. Once this data is collected, low water conditions are evaluated, and a Water Response Team (WRT) is brought together to discuss the conditions.

Kawartha Conservation will continue to monitor these conditions and report new information as it becomes available. To learn more about Ontario’s Low Water Response program visit the Low Water and Drought section of our website at www.KawarthaConservation.com. 

For additional information, please contact Nathan Rajevski. Watershed Resource Technician, nrajevski@kawarthaconservation.com, Phone: 705-328-2271 ext. 235.