"The first barrier to the contamination
of drinking water
involves protecting the sources of drinking water."
- Justice Dennis O'Connor, Walkerton
Inquiry 2002
Water is critical
to all aspects of our lives and it is important that we ensure
there is a safe and reliable source of water for all our uses
- now and in the future.
Our drinking water comes from lakes, rivers, streams or underground
sources (aquifers) located across the province. All of these sources
of water are linked in a watershed through the water
cycle. Drinking water sources can be easily contaminated
and have a limited tolerance for stress. Long terms problems can
develop that are costly or even impossible to correct.
In order to make sure we have enough clean water for drinking
and other uses, we need to protect sources by managing the influences
on them. The best way to protect sources of water is on a watershed
basis because water flows across traditional boundaries
such as towns and cities. Conservation Authorities are the only watershed management agencies
in Ontario that are organized on a watershed basis (see Map).
Drinking water is best protected by taking an approach that uses
multiple barriers to prevent contamination from affecting our
drinking water. Known as the 'multibarrier
approach', it includes taking actions to prevent
contamination of sources of our water, using adequate water treatment
and distribution systems, water testing and training of water
managers. In his Walkerton Inquiry, Justice O'Connor called for a multiple-barrier water management approach to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring again. He concluded that source protection is one of the most effective and efficient means of protecting the safety of Ontario's drinking water. He also made 22 recommendations related to source water protection planning, including the need to develop legislation that would require source protection plans to be developed adn implemented locally for every watershed in Ontario.
The Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act is part of the Ontario 's government's commitment to implement all of the recommendations of the Walkerton Inquiry. For the first time, communities will be required to create and carry out a plan to protect the sources of their municipal drinking water supplies . For more information...
Source Protection Plans
As a result of the Clean Water Act , Communities in Ontario are required to develop source protection plans in order to protect their municipal sources of drinking water. These plans identify risks to local drinking water sources and develop a strategies to reduce or eliminate these risks. Because it is everyone's responsibility to protect our water resources, broad consultation throughout the development of the source protection plans is important and involves municipalities, conservation authorities, property owners, farmers, industry, businesses, community groups, public health officials, First Nations. For more information on Source Protection Planning and the technical studies involved.
• Find your Source Protection Region or Area.
• Frequently Asked questions on Source Water Protection (French)
• For More Information on the Clean Water Act in English (French)
Ontario Drinking Water Stewardship Program
As part of its commitment to safe drinking water and as established in the Clean Water At, the Ministry of the Environment has launched the Ontario Drinking Water Stewardship Program, a financial assistance program to help landowners take action to reduce threats to local municipal drinking water sources. Funding will be provided by the Ministry of the Environment, through partnerships with participating Source Protection Regions and Areas. A total of $21 million is available over three years from spring 2008 to spring 2011. For more information on the Ontario Drinking Water Stewardship Program.
• Ontario Drinking Water Stewardship Program Toolkit