Drinking Water Source Protection
Drinking Water Source Protection has been identified as the first line of defence in protecting Ontario's drinking water. The Clean Water Act, 2006 was passed into law by the Province of Ontario and identifies that a Source Protection Committee will be formed to work together with Conservation Authorities, municipalities, stakeholders, and the entire community will develop watershed based Source Protection Plans.
What is Source Water?
It 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.
What's the Plan?
A Source Protection Plan will become an agreement about the ways to protect water quality and quantity. ERCA will be working with the Source Protection Committee, our municipal partners and the community to develop the Source Protection Plan for our local watersheds. A successful Plan will:
- Meet the needs of individual watersheds
- Bring together all key partners
- Include the technical data required to make informed decisions
- Have political support from all levels of government
- Be available to residents within the watersheds
- Be adequately funded to further development and ongoing needs
The Planning Process:
Development of Source 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.
Currently, ERCA and all Conservation Authorities are working on developing the technical information that will allow the Source Protection Committee to move forward in identifying potential risks to drinking water. Watershed descriptions, mapping and water budgets are elements of this first stage. For more information on Drinking Water Source Protection, check out the Essex Region Source Protection website at www.essexregionsourcewater.org.
