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Protecting water at its source is the first step in ensuring that every Ontarian has access to safe drinking water. By stopping contaminants from getting into sources of drinking water - lakes, rivers and aquifers - we can provide the first line of defense in the protection of our environment and the health of Ontarians.
What source water is:
"Source water" refers to the lakes, rivers and aquifers from which we get the water we drink and use.
How Ontario protects our source water
Ontario protects our source water through the Clean Water Act which:
- requires that local communities - through local Source Protection Committees - assess existing and potential threats to their water, and that they set out and implement the actions needed to reduce or eliminate these threats
empowers communities to take action to prevent threats from becoming significant
requires public participation on every local source protection plan - the planning process for source protection is open to anyone in the community
requires that all plans and actions are based on sound science.
- The assessment reports prepared by local Source Protection Committees identify and assess threats to drinking water sources listed in the committee’s terms of reference. The information they contain is used to prepare the source protection plans. These plans will set out what actions are required to address threats to drinking water sources.
- The Clean Water Act also introduces the Ontario Drinking Water Stewardship Program which offers financial assistance to farmers, landowners, and small or medium businesses for activities that reduce threats to local drinking water sources.
Ontario Drinking Water Stewardship Program
The Ontario Drinking Water Stewardship Program (ODWSP) under the Clean Water Act provides financial assistance to help Ontarians address threats to local drinking water sources. In its first four years, the ODWSP funds supported more than 2,100 projects.
The Clean Water Act helps protect drinking water at the source, as part of an overall commitment to safeguard human health and the environment. A key focus of the legislation is the preparation of locally developed, science-based assessment reports and source protection plans.
Most conservation authorities and the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association still have funds available for landowners, farmers and small businesses near municipal wells and surface water intakes to:
upgrade or decommission wells
upgrade septics
undertake agricultural best management practices
implement runoff and erosion controls
Please contact your local conservation authority or the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association for more information.
Visit www.sourceprotectionstewardship.on.ca
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© 2012