2011 News

New funding for stewardship projects that help protect municipal drinking water

(Lindsay, January 26, 2011)  Ontario Minister of the Environment John Wilkinson announced in Lindsay today a $28 million, four-year commitment from the provincial government to assist landowners, businesses and municipalities with protecting municipal drinking water in Ontario. 2011 marks the introduction of the second phase of the Ontario Drinking Water Stewardship Program (ODWSP), moving from Early Actions to Early Response.

The announcement was held at the Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment at Fleming College (Lindsay Campus), and was attended by Peterborough MPP Jeff Leal; City of Kawartha Lakes Mayor Ric McGee; Tony Tilly, President of Fleming College; Jim Hunt, Chair of the Trent Conservation Coalition Source Protection Committee; and Rob Messervey, Chief Administrative Officer of Kawartha Conservation.

Conservation authorities are partnering with the provincial government to assist in delivering the second phase of this popular drinking water stewardship program.

Locally, within the Trent Conservation Coalition Source Protection Region, five Conservation Authorities (Kawartha, Crowe Valley, Ganaraska Region, Lower Trent and Otonabee) are administering the stewardship program. The source protection planning region encompasses the Trent/Ganaraska River watersheds, covering a 14,500 square kilometre area stretching from Algonquin Park to Lake Ontario and the Bay of Quinte.

"To date, there have been 120 groups and individuals who have received financial assistance through this program in our source protection region," said Jim Hunt, Chair of the Trent Conservation Coalition Source Protection Committee.

"This program is an excellent example of individuals, businesses, municipalities, conservation authorities and the province working together towards a common goal - the protection of municipal sources of drinking water," Hunt said.

Over the past three years, a total of $419,570 has been spent on stewardship projects aimed at protecting sources of water for municipal drinking water systems within the Trent Conservation Coalition Source Protection Region. The province has provided $285,190 in financial assistance with program participants contributing $134,380.

The types of projects delivered have included well decommissioning and upgrading, septic system inspections and upgrades, runoff and erosion control, pollution prevention reviews for businesses, and public education.

The new funding will build upon these past activities, and focus on projects that will mitigate significant threats to municipal drinking water sources, based on a scientific assessment of threats. Over $230,000 is available for eligible projects within the Trent Conservation Coalition Source Protection Region.

"We're very pleased to continue this important partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Environment," said Jo-Anne Rzadki, Watershed Stewardship Coordinator for Conservation Ontario, the association that represents the province's conservation authorities. "Today, there are 34 conservation authorities participating in this phase of the program, working with landowners and businesses to ensure clean water sources for Ontario communities."

The ODWSP operates under the Clean Water Act (2006) which helps protect drinking water from source to tap with a multi-barrier approach that stops contaminants from entering sources of drinking water - lakes, rivers and aquifers.

Those with significant threats will be able to apply to Kawartha Conservation for this new funding when applications are made available this spring.

Ontario's Clean Water Act:

• 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.

More Information on ODWSP and Conservation Authorities - Conservation Ontario Backgrounder http://www.conservationontario.ca/source_protection/protection.html

Ministry of Environment: Clean Water Act and Source Protection http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/environment/en/category/water/index.htm

Ministry of the Environment: Ontario Drinking Water Stewardship Program
http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/environment/en/subject/protection/STDPROD_080599

 

Summary of municipal water systems and significant threats within local municipalities

City of Kawartha Lakes

Within the Trent Conservation Coalition Source Protection Region:

• Municipal drinking water systems: 22 *
• Significant threats: 745
• Parcels of land: 469

Within the South Georgian Bay Lake Simcoe Source Protection Region (ourwatershed.ca):

• Municipal drinking water systems: 3 *
• Significant threats: 233
• Parcels of land: 201

* The total number of municipal drinking water systems in the City of Kawartha Lakes is 24. The Woods of Manilla system is within both source protection regions above.

Region of Durham (Township of Scugog only)

• Municipal drinking water systems: 3
• Significant threats: 193
• Parcels of land: 81

Township of Minden Hills

• Municipal drinking water systems: 2
• Significant threats: 9
• Parcels of land: 7

 

Some of the significant threats to local municipal drinking water systems

• Septic systems
• Storage of agricultural source material
• Application of agricultural source material (eg. manure) to land
• Application of commercial fertilizer to land
• Storage of a pesticide
• Application of pesticides to land
• Storage of fuel
• Storage of an organic solvent
• Storage of a dense non aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL)

 

About the Trent Conservation Coalition Source Protection Region (TCCSPR)

The TCCSPR extends across the Trent/Ganaraska River watersheds, covering 14,500 square kilometres that stretches down from Algonquin Park to Lake Ontario and the Bay of Quinte. Within this area, there are a total of 54 municipal drinking water systems. This includes 35 municipal wells that draw water from underground aquifers and 19 surface water intakes that draw water from inland lakes and rivers or Lake Ontario. The TCCSPR and other Regions are developing Source Protection Plans, due in 2012, to reduce threats to municipal drinking water.

Visit trentsourceprotection.on.ca for more information.