WATERLOO - Researchers and the public can access the entire water management history of the Grand River Conservation Authority with the donation of the GRCA papers to the University of Waterloo library.

The GRCA, which manages the Grand River's water and natural resources on behalf of 38 municipalities and 925,000 residents, has donated its corporate archives for the last 75 years to the university library. The Grand River flows 300 kilometres through southwestern Ontario from the highlands of Dufferin County to Port Maitland on Lake Erie.

"The GRCA donation complements the rich archival holdings of the University of Waterloo library on the environment and conservation, such as the papers of W.H. Breithaupt, the earliest proponent of flood control on the Grand, as well as the archives of the Walter Bean Grand River Trail, the Muskoka Lakes Association and the Canadian Coalition on Acid Rain," said university librarian Mark Haslett.

The official opening of the Grand River Conservation Authority Papers will be held tomorrow Tuesday, Sept. 22, from 4 to 6 p.m., on the first floor of the Dana Porter Library.

At the event, officials will also sign a GRCA-University of Waterloo memorandum of understanding, which renews the research agreement between the university and the authority.

"This collection represents a significant resource to researchers interested in the natural history of southern Ontario," said Alan Dale, chair of the GRCA. "We are grateful to the University of Waterloo for accepting the donation, conserving it in perpetuity and making it available for research use. "

The GRCA came into being in 1934 and is Canada's oldest watershed management agency, celebrating 75 years of activity in 2009.

The archival collection contains records that go back to the earliest days in the GRCA's history, including such items as the original minutes of its predecessor agencies, the Grand River Conservation Commission and the Grand Valley Conservation Authority.

The comprehensive collection features photographs, slides, negatives, films, sound recordings, news clippings, scrapbooks, reports and publications.