Ontario's Clean Water Act

Grand River Conservation Authority
News Release
 
 
Friday, April 17, 2009
Release ON RECEIPT
 
Wellington County property owners to receive
information packages on Clean Water Act
 
More than 3,000 property owners in Wellington County will soon receive information kits on the Ontario Clean Water Act and how it could affect their land.
The kits are going to the owners of properties near municipal wells in communities in these townships:
  • Mapleton: Moorefield, Drayton
  • Wellington North: Arthur
  • Centre Wellington: Fergus, Elora
  • Guelph/Eramosa: Rockwood, Hamilton Drive subdivision, areas near City of Guelph wells
Each kit contains a copy of a newsletter, The Source, which provides information on the source protection program for the Grand River watershed. The kits also include a flyer with details on the Ontario Drinking Water Stewardship Program which helps landowners upgrade septic systems, cap old wells or take other action to protect groundwater from contamination.
The kits are being distributed by the townships in conjunction with the Grand River Conservation Authority. They are working together to support the Lake Erie Region Source Protection Committee which is overseeing development of a drinking water source protection plan for the Grand River watershed.
The Clean Water Act was passed in response to the Walkerton tainted water tragedy. The goal of the Act and source protection planning is to provide an additional level of security for municipal water supplies. Studies are taking place around municipal wells to determine what kind of activities could potentially threaten the water supply. The information will be used to develop a drinking water source protection plan.
Grants are available for properties closest to the wells to offset the cost of undertaking work to protect water supplies. More information, including maps showing the eligible areas, is available at the Lake Erie Region webpage at www.sourcewater.ca in the “Stewardship Program” section.
Eligible projects include:
  • Decommissioning old wells, upgrading active wells or connecting to a municipal drinking water service line and decommissioning the old well.
  • Upgrades and improvements for aging septic systems
  • Pollution prevention audits for small and medium-sized businesses that manufacture, handle, store, and dispose of materials into water, land, or air. The audit will identify ways to reduce environmental and business risks arising from potential threats to water.
  • Farm and rural land projects for erosion control, nutrient management planning, farmyard runoff control, improved manure storage and handling and others.
The grant program is being administered by the GRCA and three other conservation authorities in the Lake Erie Source Protection Region: Long Point Region, Catfish Creek and Kettle Creek.  Under the Clean Water Act, the Ministry of the Environment has made $7 million available each year, for four years to finance the program across Ontario.
 
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Note to editors:
 
 
Further information: Dave Schultz, GRCA Manager of Communications
Phone: (519) 621-2763, Ext. 2273; Cell: (519) 658-3896
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Website: www.grandriver.ca

If you're interested in learning more about Ontario's new Clean Water Act and how it will be implemented in this area, you can find it in a newsletter and website that are now available.

The newsletter and website are produced by the four conservation authorities that make up the Lake Erie Source Protection Region:

  • Grand River Conservation Authority
  • Long Point Region Conservation Authority
  • Catfish Creek Conservation Authority, and
  • Kettle Creek Conservation Authority.

The first edition of a newsletter providing up-to-date information on the Clean Water Act and source protection planning is now available on the Lake Erie Region's website at www.sourcewater.ca

The newsletter includes:

  • information on the release of draft regulations under the Clean Water Act, and how members of the public can comment on them
  • links to water quality and water use reports for several of the conservation authority areas within the region
  • a Q&A about the financing of source protection planning d.. instructions on how to subscribe to future editions of the newsletter.

The Clean Water Act was passed by the Ontario legislature in October 2006. It requires the development of source protection plans aimed at protecting the water sources for municipal water systems. The process of developing the plan will be guided by a Source Protection Committee, which will include representatives of municipalities, landowners, farmers, business, industry and the public.

Updates on the formation of the committee will be available on the website as it becomes available.
 
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