Concrete Consequences - How Highway 413 would put GTA watersheds at risk

The redside dace has occupied and contributing habitat in cool water streams in the Main, West, and East subwatersheds within areas that would be paved over by Highway 413 construction.³⁸ The change in habitat and higher chloride levels will transform the external and internal environments of the redside dace and push the species further towards extinction.39 Figure 6: % of water samples that meet. [...] The extent of approximate change varied throughout different portions of the watershed and showed the strongest impacts in areas that were on or near the future site of Highway 413.⁵³ Increasing the already very high levels of chloride and impervious cover in the Etobicoke Creek watershed will affect the quality of life for aquatic species.⁵⁴ * It is important to note that percent change in TRCA’s. [...] The watershed faces a variety of local and regional pressures such as: ● Habitat loss and fragmentation: With the current levels and trendlines of natural cover, it is expected that the health of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and species will be impacted, and the watershed will face species loss. [...] The upper and middle portions of the watershed lie within Ontario’s Greenbelt land and contain a high amount of natural cover (43 and 47 per cent respectively).59 The watershed’s lower portion is the most urbanized of the three with 63 per cent of urban land cover, 17 per cent natural cover, and 20 per cent open agricultural space.60 Urbanization is a growing concern throughout all levels of the C. [...] There are approximately 65 species of plants and animals in the Credit River watershed that are at risk of extinction.64 The number of species at risk is much higher than a baseline extinction rate (extinction rate expected due to natural processes) and is a result of the increase in urbanization and other human related activities occurring in the watershed.65 Highway 413 and associated urban deve.