Sawmill-Walkley Reservoir Traditional Cache
Sawmill-Walkley Reservoir
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This cache is located at the edge of the woods by the shores of a new Sawmill Creek reservoir.
In 2004/2005, the City built this reservoir (Pond 3) to help purify storm water from the McCarthy subdivisions and to even out the northbound flow of water into Sawmill Creek. You will note the bigger ponds 1 and 2 being built to the south of the Ottawa Central Railway line.
On the south shore is a small dark cedar forest, the cache is hidden by a tree trunk. You may note the beavers have been busy nearby and deer droppings have been seen.
When established it contained a Barbados Windmill coin, a little stuffed turtle, a beavers/scouting ring, a polished rock, a May 1990 RMOC key fob, a Scuba DIVER travel bug and a mini curling stone to complete the reservoir theme.
Much like The Big "O", the biggest challenge is how to get there. Due to the Home Depot fencing, Sawmill Creek, the O-Train line and the Transitway, you cannot get there from Bank St anywhere. Even if the reservoir looks frozen, do not cross it due to currents and changing water levels.
Once you are there, you can enjoy the lake, forest, view and trains, and maybe even the sunset. You can go on to visit a cache at the forks of Sawmill Creek to the north/east. There is nice paved pathway on the west side of the reservoir, part of the nature/bike path to ponds 1 and 2 where other caches are located. The following is courtesy of RP Guider(s) husband:
Sawmill Creek Artificial Wetland:
In 1993 the city of Ottawa completed the Sawmill Creek Sub watershed Plan, which was a secondary planning document, and part of the city's Official Plan. As the best example of a coldwater stream remaining in the urban core several recommendations were made to protect the stream bed and water quality. One of these was to devise a plan to negate the deleterious effects of glycol (airplane de-icer) which was escaping from the Ottawa Airport holding ponds each spring in large quantities and entering Sawmill Creek through Cahill Creek. In 1998-99 a proposal was brought forward by staff, on Wendy Stewart's request, to build holding ponds along Sawmill Creek. Over several open house meetings with interested citizens it was decided to change where Cahill Creek intersected Sawmill Creek behind South Keys Mall and to build three connected holding ponds. Another benefit of the plan was to reduce the spring freshet and subsequent flooding of properties to the east of Bank Street (near Artistic Landscape). Gloucester immediately put its' share in the pot ($4 million). During amalgamation city staff twice dropped the project from the new City's operations budget but alert citizens informed Councilor Stewart who reversed the staff's position. In 2001 the Sawmill Creek Sub watershed Plan was re-visited and in 2002 the artificial wetlands project was endorsed by the Environmental Advisory Committee and Council approved. In late 2004 the first shovel full of dirt was removed on pond 3 and the project started. In 2006 ponds 1 & 2 were excavated, and the project is expected to be fully operational for the 2008 spring freshet.
Part of the approved official plan for the artificial wetland is to include a network of walkways and trails with some interpretive signage. In addition, it was proposed that the construction company's biologist should prepare notes on what, in theory, should be happening below the surface. The idea being teachers could use these notes to design a syllabus for a field trip.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
tencr ivarf, jnvfg urvtug
Treasures
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