BMP 8 – Water Crossing

The development of a water crossing or a Water Body access point on Crown lands within Manitoba are activities that may have significant impacts on aquatic environments.

A water crossing may be used by the mineral exploration industry to efficiently access a program work site. A temporary water crossing is employed for short-term access and is not intended for prolonged use. The impacts associated with a water crossing development will depend on the type of structure used at the crossing, timing of the proposed work, and how the crossing is constructed, maintained, and operated.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is responsible for protecting fish and fish habitat in all water bodies across Canada. As per the federal Fisheries Act (1985), no one may carry out work that will cause, or has the potential to cause the harmful alteration, disruption, or destruction to fish habitat without prior approval from DFO. Canada has developed an Aquatic Species at Risk Map that can be referenced to understand critical habitat and distribution data for aquatic species listed under the federal Species at Risk Act that may be relevant to the proposed project area.

The federal Fisheries Act requires that projects avoid causing serious harm to fish unless authorized by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. This applies to work being conducted in or near water bodies that support fish that are part of, or that support a commercial, recreational, or Aboriginal fishery. To protect fish and fish habitat, efforts should be made to avoid, mitigate and/or offset harm. Following the federal measures to avoid harm will help to ensure proposed projects comply with the Fisheries Act. For further details, request a review of a proposed project located near a Water Body from the Government of Canada’s Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program.

Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS)

Permittee must ensure there is no transfer of water from any water bodies within an AIS control zone, including the downstream reach of each tributary entering a control zone Water Body, up to the first impassable barrier, per Section 21 of the Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations respecting restrictions on water removed from a control zone.

Permittee must ensure when sampling within Manitoba that all activities, including cleaning and decontamination requirements for watercraft, water-related equipment (equipment or any things that come into contact with a Water Body) and motor vehicles (including off-road vehicles), adhere to Manitoba’s Aquatic Invasive Species Regulation under The Water Protection Act.

NOTE: The Control Zones include the lower reaches of all tributaries entering into any water bodies identified within control zones up to their first impassable barrier. Decontamination is required if moving from downstream of the first impassable barrier (the area within the control zone) prior to moving upstream of the barrier.

Manitoba’s Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention and Response Plan

Manitoba’s Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention and Response Plan was released on July 9, 2024 and provides information on:

Aquatic invasive species of most concern in Manitoba and outside of Manitoba,
How to identify AIS, where they are located and how they can be transported from one waterbody to another,
Actions the Manitoba government is taking to proactively manage AIS; and
Actions that individuals and communities can take to prevent the movement of aquatic invasive species.

All users must be AIS free. Further information can be found on the Manitoba government aquatic invasive species website here. Checklists exist for proper procedures for both open water and closed water checklists that follow the Cleaned Drained Dry (CDD) process to be AIS free. Please see the decontamination link for further information of processes to ensure AIS are removed.

No person can deposit water from any surface waterbody to any other Water Body (control zone or not). More specifically, water extracted from one waterbody cannot be deposited within 30 metres of another waterbody according to the Aquatic Invasive Species Regulation.

NOTE: Everyone has a role to play in preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species. Read Manitoba’s Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention and Response Plan to learn more about what you can do. As a first step, please consider sharing this information.

If using dedicated equipment, gear can come into a waterbody on a back-and-forth basis (but still must meet CDD requirements). CDD does not apply until the gear is removed from the waterbody (e.g.:a contractor has a boat on shore of a lake they pull up each night. CDD does not apply until they take it away from the lake). See the Aquatic Invasive Species Regulation for more information on exceptions.

Water Body Access

The impacts associated with the development of Water Body access points will depend on the location selected (e.g.: type and amount of shoreline/bank vegetation, shoreline/bank slope at the land-water interface, degree of disturbance required to construct the access point, soil type, type/amount of aquatic vegetation, timing of construction, type of heavy equipment used, required width of access, etc.).

If required, Water Body access trails should be cut to a minimum size required, (typically less than 5 meters in width) and zigzagged if possible.

Project impacts may include:

The harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish or aquatic habitat through the infilling of water bodies, or the alteration of shoreline areas;
The blockage of fish movements;
Dewatering of small streams during water withdrawal activities;
The entrainment or impingement of small fish into water intakes; or
The introduction of deleterious substances, such as fine sediments into a Water Body.

The potential impacts on fish habitat and the surrounding land may be minimized through careful planning of access routes or trails and the selection of appropriate crossing sites, crossing structures, and Water Body access points that will have minimal impacts on the aquatic environment.

The Manitoba Stream Crossing Guidelines for the Protection of Fish and Fish Habitat outline procedures for minimizing damage when using water crossings for mineral exploration projects. Manitoba’s Water Protection Handbook also details guidance and practices relevant to water protection.

Water crossings should be minimized, but if needed, should be planned carefully, and crossed at right angles to minimize the area of disturbance. To minimize disturbance, proposed work activities should also:

Plan to cross at narrow stream sites;
Avoid any banks that are unstable; and
When applicable, use frozen water bodies for travel to reduce potential impacts on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Types of structures used to cross water bodies may include steel or wooden rail car bridges, culverts, and ice/snow bridges or ramps are the preferred type of crossing for winter exploration programs.

For open water crossings, clear span structures that do not involve any infilling of the watercourse below the high-water mark are the preferred type of structure. Infilling of the watercourse below the high-water mark is considered a loss of habitat and may require formal authorization from DFO under Section 35 (2) of the Fisheries Act along with acceptable compensation.

If practical, water crossings should be located:

Near the headwaters of watercourses;
Away from Water Body inlets and outlets;
Upstream from natural, permanent barriers to fish passage, such as waterfalls and steep gradients;
Away from important fish habitat (such as riffle area, rapids, and areas with gravel/cobble substrates);
Where the approaches to the crossing are on a flat, stable slope;
In areas with minimal or no floodplain habitat adjacent to the active channel;
Perpendicular to the watercourse; and
Where the crossing will accommodate peak flows.

NOTE: Water crossing proposed at a location where the watercourse is narrowest may not be the best place to create a crossing, as these areas may have fast moving water and thin ice.

It is important to prevent erosion of the watercourse bank at the crossing point. Silt fencing or other erosion barriers such as straw bales may be necessary to prevent siltation and erosion.

Further information and details can be found in Canada’s Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Policy Statement.

Contacts

Government of Canada

Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
519-383-1809
Toll free 1-866-290-3731
info@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Related Acts and Regulations

F90 – The Fisheries Act
C340 – The Crown Lands Act
P20 – Provincial Parks Act
W65 – The Water Protection Act
Manitoba’s Aquatic Invasive Species Regulation
Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program
Manitoba’s Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention and Response Plan

Canada

F-14 – Fisheries Act (1985)
Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations