Grand facts

• A watershed is all the land drained by a river and its tributaries to a lake or ocean.
• The Grand River, and its four major tributaries, the Nith, Conestogo, Eramosa and Speed Rivers, is the largest river system entering Lake Erie. The catchment basin is the largest in southern Ontario, draining an area of 6,800 square kilometres.
• The watershed lies between Georgian Bay and Lake Erie, between longitudes 79° 30´ and 80° 57´ West, and latitudes 42° 51´ and 44° 13´ North.
• Because of its unique cultural and historical heritage, the Grand River, and its tributaries, was designated as a Canadian Heritage River in 1994.
• The land area of the Grand River watershed has an overall length of 190 kilometres, and an average width of 35 kilometres.
• The headwaters of the Grand River rise north-east of the village of Dundalk, on some of the highest land in southern Ontario. The river drops from an elevation of 526 metres above sea level to 174 metres above sea level on its 298 kilometres (185 miles) journey to Lake Erie.
• The Grand River crosses four climate zones. From north to south they are Dundalk Upland, Huron Slopes, South Slopes and Lake Erie Counties.
• The Grand River crosses two forest zones, the Alleghenian and Carolinian.
• The drainage area of the Grand River includes rural lands in the north and south, and the central, heavily populated, cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Brantford. There are approximately 670,000 watershed residents in 55 municipalities, and 11 regions and counties.
• The Grand River basin includes almost all of Brant, Waterloo and Wellington Counties, and parts of Dufferin, Gray, Haldimand, Halton, Norfolk, Oxford, Perth and Wentworth Counties.
• Flows in the Grand River are regulated by four main reservoirs. Large reservoirs on the Grand River include Luther Marsh at the headwaters, and Belwood Lake near Fergus. The major reservoirs on the tributaries are Conestogo Lake on the Conestogo River above Glen Allen, and Guelph Lake on the Speed River above the City of Guelph. Many smaller dams and reservoirs are located in communities with a mill pond or impoundment with historic significance.
• 525,000 urban residents discharge their treated effluent into the Grand River system.
• The Grand River Conservation Authority preserves 18,935 hectares (46,894 acres) of land including water control reservoirs, floodplains, wildlife and wetland habitat, forests and conservation areas for outdoor recreation.
• Through the Municipal Levy in 1996, each Grand River watershed resident contributed $4.96 to the conservation work of the Grand River Conservation Authority.

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