The Source Protection Planning Process and Where We are Today

The Clean Water Act (CWA) sets out a four stage process for Source Water Protection. Ratified by the Ontario Government in 2006, the Act was fashioned to ensure safe drinking water for Ontario residents from ‘source to tap’. Stage one was the initial phase of the process and involved establishing Source Protection Areas and Source Protection Authorities (SPAs) as well as launching technical studies. Under the CWA, the area of jurisdiction for each Conservation Authority (CA) is generally designated the drinking water Source Protection Area and the CA acts as the drinking water SPA. The Source Protection program is lead by a committee made up of various stakeholders and is administered locally in our case by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA).

Niagara Peninsula Source Protection Area (NPSPA)

The NPCA is a stand alone authority, also referred to as the Niagara Peninsula Source Protection Area (NPSPA). In other places when deemed advisable by the province, two or more SPAs are combined to form Source Protection Regions. An example is the Hamilton and Halton Conservation Authorities, which form the Hamilton-Halton Source Protection Region. Under the Act, the 36 CAs in Ontario have been grouped into 19 Source Protection Areas and Regions. In total, there are 11 Source Protection Regions of 2 or more CAs and 8 Source Protection Areas that stand alone. Source Protection Regions have one CA appointed the lead, who established the Source Protection Committee (SPC), and now provides support to the committee throughout the entire process.

Niagara Peninsula Source Protection Committee (SPC)

Stage One of the Source Protection Planning Process also involves selecting a SPC for each Source Protection Area and Region. The SPC is responsible for the key reports throughout the Source Planning Protection Process beginning with the Terms of Reference (TOR), followed by the Assessment Report and finally the Source Protection Plan (SPP). Formed in 2007, the Niagara Peninsula SPC is a multi-stakeholder group with nine members plus a Chair appointed by the province. It is comprised of three sectors, with equal representation from three municipal representatives, three members from the general public, and one member each from agriculture, industry, and business. The ultimate goal of the SPC is to develop Source Protection Plans and implement strategies for safeguarding the watershed’s surface and ground water sources from contamination and overuse.

Terms of Reference (TOR)

The first major task for the SPC was to prepare a TOR which describes the tasks to be completed, including parties responsible for conducting the work, and estimates for time and budgets. The Terms of Reference involved a significant public consultation process and was approved by the MOE in the spring of 2009. Tasks in the TOR include mapping vulnerable areas around municipal drinking water sources and identifying and assessing risks to the municipal drinking water supply.

Click here for more information on the development of the TOR

Assessment Report (AR)

Stage Two of the Source Protection Planning process involves the preparation of the Assessment Report (AR). The AR looks at the watershed in its entirety and seeks to understand surface and ground water characteristics and which vulnerable areas need protection. AR content is based on three main documents;

• Clean Water Act, 2006 (CWA),
• Ontario Regulation 287/07 (General Regulation), and the
• Technical Rules: AR Clean Water Act (November 16, 2009).

The primary goal of the AR is to provide the necessary information to develop the source protection plan and make local policy decisions for the management and protection of our drinking water sources. Several technical studies have been completed by the NPCA and Regional Municipality of Niagara for the source protection program. The AR includes the results of these studies. The main study areas were:

1. Watershed Characterization Report
2. Water Budget and Water Quantity Stress Assessment
3. Groundwater Vulnerability
4. Surface Water Vulnerability
5. Threats Inventory and Issues Evaluation
   

The development of the AR included two public commenting periods where the public, municipalities and other key stakeholders could review the report and provide their comments. In June 2010, the SPC approved a ‘Proposed’ copy of the AR which was submitted to the Ontario Ministry of Environment (MOE) for approval in July 2010.

In February 2011 the MOE requested some amendments be made to the July 2010 report. Consequently, on March 8, 2011, the SPC approved the Draft Amended Proposed Assessment Report, which contains the following changes from the July 2010 report:

• Amendments that are required by the MOE as outlined in their letter of February 2011.
• Revisions to the IPZ-1 delineation for the Decew Highway 406 Intake, based on new information received, as well as revisions to the threats assessment and related edits to the report text as needed.
• Revisions to the IPZ-2 delineation for the Decew Lake Gibson Alternate Intake, based on new information received, as well as revisions to the threats assessment and related edits to the report text as needed.
• Removal of Sewage Pumping Stations as existing significant threats in Port Colborne, based on additional information received which indicates these pumping stations cannot discharge directly into the environment or to storm sewers.
• Other updates based on information received since June 2010.
• Minor edits to the report text and figures as needed to correct for grammar, typing errors, etc., that have been identified since the proposed AR was submitted to MOE in 2010.

There will be a 30-day public consultation period for this latest version of the Proposed Assessment Report, starting on March 18, 2011. To view the Draft Amended Proposed Assessment Report and to find out how you can provide comments on it, please follow the web-link below.

Click here to view the Draft Amended Proposed Assessment Report (AR)
and public commenting process

Source Protection Plan (SPP)

Stage Three of the Source Protection Planning process will be the development of the Source Protection Plan following approval of the AR by the MOE.  The plan will build on information from the AR, setting out policies and risk management strategies to address any significant threats to the municipal drinking water supply.

The following tools may be incorporated in policies of the source protection plan:

• Education and Outreach measures and incentive programs to promote awareness of measures that residents and property owners can take to protect drinking water sources.
• Utilizing the province’s Planning Act to address significant threats to drinking water supplies.
• Utilizing a number of provincially Prescribed Instruments, such as the MOE’s Certificate of Approval process, to address significant threats to drinking water supplies.
• Utilizing Part IV of the Clean Water Act, if required, which would include regulation of activities that are, or would be, significant threats through a Risk Management Plan.
• Utilizing Part IV of the Clean Water Act, if required, which would include prohibition of activities that are, or would be, significant threats to drinking water supplies particularly when other alternatives are not viable. Generally prohibition would only be used to address only future threats.

Implementation

Stage Four of the Source Protection Planning process is the final stage and involves implementing the SPP.  These municipalities will be substantially involved with the implementation of the SPP policies, as implementation may require amendments to Official Plans and revision to land-use zoning to abide by the goals expressed in the SPP.