Shoreline Protection

This lakefront land is your land. As its guardian, you have a social and legal responsibility to nurture and maintain its natural beauty and health for future generations. There are many ways to minimize our impact and make sure we tread lightly on our shoreline.

The image below shows the three major ecological shoreline zones for a typical waterfront cottage property, and how they relate to the legal requirements for shoreline permits under the Public Lands Act.

The littoral zone includes the water and the land where they meet along the water’s edge extending out to where the sun can’t penetrate the lake. The water in the littoral zone provides spawning areas, cover, nursery habitat, and food for a range of species, offering foraging areas and hiding spots and a shallow, relatively protected area for young fish and amphibians to grow. Aquatic plants and downed trees are a crucial part of the system, with the plants acting as the lungs of the lake, converting sunlight into food, releasing oxygen in the process, and providing food and shelter for other creatures. Once submerged, wood becomes a hiding place for small fish and their predators as well as a major source of food for aquatic insects, crayfish, and small fish.

The riparian zone extends from the upland zone to the shoreline. The vegetation in this zone acts as nature’s filter, reducing soil erosion and runoff into the lake as well as filtering any nutrients and other contaminants before they can discharge into the lake. This zone also provides shade to the near-shore water and is home to many shoreline birds and animals that require feeding and nesting places with rapid access to the water to escape predators.

The upland zone extends farthest back from the lake. It is typically forested, with the roots of trees and shrubs stabilizing the slopes, and their foliage buffering the shoreline from winds and cooling the atmosphere by maintaining shade and boosting humidity in the summer.  Together with the riparian zone, this zone forms an effective buffer that can reduce up to 90% of rainfall runoff.  If the lake bottom does not drop off too quickly, then the remaining runoff will be captured by aquatic plants in the littoral zone.

There are several measures that we as cottagers can take to protect our shoreline. A great resource is Watersheds Canada's “Love Your Lake” shoreline evaluation program which is designed to encourage lakefront property owners to take proactive steps to improve lake health by creating and maintaining healthier shorelines.

Why are Healthy Shorelines Important?

Filtering Rainfall Runoff

Rain that runs off the land can be slowed and will infiltrate into the buffer, which helps settle out sediment, nutrients, and other pollutants before they reach the water.

Your Responsibility

Leave about 10m (~30 feet) of natural vegetation back from the water. This natural vegetation is achieved by doing nothing. What grows in, is “natural.” This vegetation acts as a filter for runoff which may contain nutrients (good for plants and people but bad for water quality) from septic beds, fertilizer, and compost. Even a well-maintained septic may not filter out all phosphates.

Absorbing Nutrients

Nutrients from fertilizers and septic systems are taken up by tree roots. Phosphorus and nitrogen will be stored in leaves, limbs, and roots instead of reaching the water. Phosphorus is the main element of concern in the lakes of Muskoka as it acts as a nutrient for algal growth.

Your Responsibility

If you must have a lawn beyond the 10m mark, use native grasses which require no fertilizer. Leaving the lawn unmowed will soon allow native grasses and wildflowers to infiltrate. These are adapted to our environment and require no fertilizer. You will be delighted by some of the plants that spring up and bloom — the birds do the landscaping as they fly over and drop seeds.

Protecting Shorelines From Erosion

Tree and shrub roots hold the shoreline soils together and stems protect shorelines by deflecting the cutting action of boat wakes, waves, and stormwater. They also help reduce the impacts of flooding and stormwater runoff – by slowing the velocity of runoff, allowing the water to soak into the ground or evaporate into the air. An additional benefit includes discouraging geese from staying on your property as it blocks their view of possible predators.

Your Responsibility

Keep 30’ of shoreline into the water as natural as possible, leaving fallen tree limbs and debris in place and allowing plants to grow. Limit the size of your swimming area or beach.
Do not change the shoreline by adding rock walls, sand beaches, fixed docks, or using wake-causing boats, all of which destroy the natural shoreline which sustains a large portion of life for fish, birds, and mammals.

Rules for Shoreline Work

While all of the above actions are recommended to help protect and preserve our water quality for future generations, some legal requirements must be met for any shoreline work under the Public Lands Act Regulation 975. As noted in the above graphic, shorelands are defined as lands covered or seasonally inundated by the water of a lake and may include private, municipal, or Crown lands. Essentially, this means that all shoreline areas on your property that extend from the high water mark out into the lake are considered public lands and as such, the Ministry of Natural Resources requires a work permit for any shoreline work in this area including:

• Dredging
• Filling
• Removing aquatic vegetation
• Constructing or placing a combination of structures that occupy more than 15 sq m

Can I create a sandy beach?

The answer from the Ministry is that a beach can only be created if it is located above the high water mark and a buffer zone of natural vegetation exists between it and the water. In their words: if you want a beach, buy a property with a natural beach.

Sands containing phosphorus, which is not tightly bound to sand particles, result in quicker leaching of phosphorus compared to other types of soil with greater binding qualities. This phosphorus can migrate into the lake through runoff. Since phosphorus is a nutrient favorable to algae growth, adding sand to a beach increases the likelihood of harmful algal blooms in nearby waters.

Can I add sand to an existing beach?

The response from the Ministry is that this is considered ‘shoreline filling’ and as such, a work permit is required. There was effort to get more detail as to whether the Ministry would approve a permit application to add sand to an existing beach — the below is their response.