| Protecting Our Drinking Water Sources
The Ontario government passed the Clean Water Act (2006) to help protect drinking water at the source and to safeguard human health and the environment. It set out a multiple year, four stage process for communities in Ontario to protect the sources of their drinking water. This includes determining existing and potential threats to water sources and developing plans to reduce or eliminate significant threats.
Municipalities, conservation authorities, property owners, farmers, industry, community groups and the public are all working together to meet these goals. An independent Source Protection Committee, made up of representatives from these groups, has been established to guide the development of the source protection plan.
Steps the Region of Waterloo is Taking to Comply with Legislation
Since the Act was passed, the legislation has evolved and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) has provided additional information and clarified requirements regarding the process. This includes the identification of 21 activities that could pose a threat to drinking water supplies.
The Region of Waterloo is actively taking steps to comply with and anticipate requirements of the legislation. To date, we've undertaken technical scientific work to map vulnerable areas around our municipal water supply wells as well as the surface water intake on the Grand River in Kitchener.
We also conducted a sample census with property owners and tenants within these areas to gather information on land uses and activities. This, in addition to other information we gathered, was used to evaluate threats to our drinking water supplies.
Public Information Sessions, Funding and Programs
Now that we've gathered this information, we're sharing the results to date so we can start taking action together. Public information sessions will be held this spring where you can hear more about the process and get your questions answered. If you cannot attend, you can review the presentation [pdf].
As a property owner or tenant, you can take advantage of a number of programs to help reduce the risk to our water supply. And if you act quickly and meet the eligibility requirements, you may also have access to funding.
Contact Us
For more information, please contact:
TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
Water Services
150 Frederick Street, 7th Floor
Kitchener, ON N2G 4J3
Phone: 519-747-2000
Fax: 519.575.4452
E-mail: wrp@region.waterloo.on.ca
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