ERCA to Host Source Water Protection Presentation

Source Water Protection has been identified as the first line of defence in protecting Ontario's drinking water. The Province of Ontario introduced the Clean Water Act in December of 2005, and identified that Conservation Authorities would be charged with the responsibility of coordinating Source Water Protection Plans for Ontario's watersheds.

Source Water is the untreated water that we find in our rivers, lakes and streams. It can also come from underground aquifers that are used to supply wells. Source water protection means protecting both the quantity and the quality of these water resources...for present and future needs.

Development of Source Water Protection Plans is expected to take place over several years, with significant involvement from municipalities, stakeholders and the community. The first step will be identifying water protection issues, assessing risks to drinking water, ranking these risks and setting priorities. Next, risk reduction objectives will be set, and options evaluated. From this information the Plan will be made. Implementation and monitoring will be the final and ongoing steps.

The Essex Region Conservation Authority will host an Introduction to Source Water Protection Public Presentation on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 from 7:00pm - 8:30pm at the Essex County Civic & Education Centre, 360 Fairview Avenue West, Committee Room C and the public is invited to attend to learn more about protecting our drinking water at its source.