Ontario Has Approved Updated Source Protection Plans and Assessment Reports for Source Protection Region
by Bob Montgomery
The Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks has approved updated source protection plans and assessment reports for the Ausable Bayfield and Maitland Valley source protection areas.
The updated plans took effect on Tuesday, March 26th when they were posted on the Environmental Registry of Ontario. The locally developed, provincially approved source protection plans were first approved in 2015 and were later amended in 2019 and now 2024.
The Honourable Andrea Khanjin is Ontario’s Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. In a March 2024 letter to the source protection region and source protection authorities, she said she appreciates the dedication of the local municipalities, source protection authorities and committees, and all of their partners and stakeholders for their work and contributions to these updates. She added “Our strong protection framework will continue to help ensure Ontario’s drinking water is held to high safety standards and that sources of drinking water in the province are protected for future generations.”
Matt Pearson, Chair of the Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Committee commented that “The Committee continues to provide oversight on source water protection for municipal drinking water supplies – their input is locally based and this helps keep the plans relevant and up-to-date.”
The updates were completed under Section 36 of Ontario Regulation 287/07 under the Ontario Clean Water Act, 2006.
Key changes include the following:
– New and revised policies to align with the 2021 provincial Technical Rules, and to address policy implementation challenges.
– Revised wellhead protection areas for Belgrave to reflect a new well.
– Minor changes to Auburn, Palmerston and Wingham wellhead protection areas.
The updated source protection plans can be found on the local source protection region’s source protection plan web page (https://www.sourcewaterinfo.on.ca/the-plans/).
