The Friends of the Coves Subwatershed have commissioned Upper Thames River Conservation Authority to undertake fish sampling (2006 and 2007) and water quality sampling (2006 and 2008) in the Coves. This water quality sampling was performed at more sampling sites and looked at more parameters than the standard monthly sampling being done in the West Pond by the UTRCA.
Samples of Common Carp collected during the 2007 summer fish sampling were tested under the Sport Fish Contamination Monitoring Protocal of the Ministry of the Environment. The consumption advisory for Common Carp from the East Pond of the Coves is no more than 8 servings per month.
This information will guide future aquatic rehabilitation initiatives and provide baseline information to measure future changes against.
Through the winter and spring of 2007, students from the Environmental Resource Management Program at Ridgetown College performed water quality sampling in the Coves.
Additional survey information about the mammals, birds, reptiles, vegetation and erosion of the Coves was collected for the Coves Subwatershed Plan (2004).
