The Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) is a Conservation Authority responsible for the protection and management of the Credit Valley watershed, surrounding the Credit River

Credit River

The Credit River is a river in southern Ontario which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment to empty into Lake Ontario at Port Credit, Mississauga. It drains an area of approximately 1,000 km²...

 from its headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment

Niagara Escarpment

The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in the United States and Canada that runs westward from New York State, through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois...

 to the point at which it meets Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

 at Port Credit

Port Credit

Port Credit may refer to:* Port Credit, Ontario, a community in the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada* Port Credit GO Station, a station in the GO Transit network located in the community* Port Credit Secondary School, in the Canadian community...

, Mississauga. The CVC received its funding from both Provincial and Municipal sources, as well as self-generated user fees and other service fees.
The CVC was founded in 1954 when much of the area surrounding the Credit River was still used for rural

Rural

Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...

 agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 and pasture

Pasture

Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...

. Since then, suburban sprawl has surrounded the river within the municipal boundaries of Mississauga and Brampton

Brampton

Brampton is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada.Brampton may also refer to:- Canada :* Brampton, a city in Ontario** Brampton GO Station, a station in the GO Transit network located in the city- United Kingdom :...

.

Activities

The CVC is actively engaged in water management. The average daily flow of the Credit River is 690,000 cubic metres, 65% of which comes from groundwater. An estimated 750,000 residents in the Credit River watershed, 87% of whom live in the lower third of the watershed, in present-day Mississauga and Brampton. In 1999, 21% of the watershed was developed, and by 2020, 40% of the watershed will be developed (based on approved development and the official plans of the municipalities).

See also

• Conservation authority
• Mississauga
• Credit River
  Credit River
  The Credit River is a river in southern Ontario which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment to empty into Lake Ontario at Port Credit, Mississauga. It drains an area of approximately 1,000 km²...