Ontario s Drinking Water Source Protection Program: A Decade of Learning and Success

Transcription

1 Ontario s Drinking Water Source Protection Program: A Decade of Learning and Success Chitra Gowda, B. Eng., M.A.Sc. Source Water Protection Lead, Conservation Ontario International Forum on Integrated Water Management Workshop 4 th Edition Oct. 31-Nov. 3, 2016, Quebec

2 Presentation Overview 1. Introduction to Drinking Water Source Protection in Ontario 2. A Decade of Learning and Successes 3. The Road Ahead for Implementation 2

3 Introduction Clean Water Act, 2006 Ontario Government s commitment to ensure safe drinking water. Requires communi;es to: Evaluate threats to their municipal drinking water sources. Establish a source protec;on plan to reduce or eliminate threats to sources of municipal drinking water supplies. First Na;ons have the op;on to join the process. Municipali;es may also bring in other systems (private, non residen;al). 3

4 Introduction Ontario s Multi Barrier Approach Clean Water Act (2006) (source water protec;on) Safe Drinking Water Act (2002) Protec'ng Water: from Source to Tap 4

5 Source Water Protec,on in Ontario 19 Source Protec,on Areas/Regions 19 Source Protec,on Commi7ees 22 Approved Source Protec,on Plans Northern Ontario nontario.ca 5

6 Drinking Water Source Protection: Program Collaborations Recipe for Success: 1. Leadership by the Province of Ontario: Clean Water Act, $250 million funding, technical, policy, educa;on resources. 2. Local decision making by Source Protec,on Commi7ees: mul;- stakeholder, collabora;ve approach to protec;ng drinking water sources. 3. Support by watershed- based Conserva,on Authori,es: to develop Assessment Reports; Source Protec;on Plans; educa;on and outreach; support to policy implementers. 6

7 Drinking Water Source Protection: Program Elements The 4 Vulnerable Areas under the Clean Water Act: 1. Wellhead Protec;on Areas (WHPA) 2. Intake Protec;on Zones (IPZs) 3. Highly Vulnerable Aquifers (HVAs) 4. Significant Groundwater Recharge Areas (SGRAs) River IPZ B A C D Lake IPZ WHPA 7

8 Drinking Water Source Protection: Program Elements Water quality: prescribed threat ac;vi;es, e.g.: storage of organic solvents, applica;on of road salt. Water quan,ty: e.g.: ac;vi;es taking water but not returning to same groundwater aquifer. Water quality issues : known contaminants ( issues ) in an intake or well that can render a drinking water source to be impaired. E.g.: Sodium and Chloride (road salt); Nitrates (sewage, fer;lizer, manure); Microcys;ns (blue green algae) Issue contribu,ng areas: delineated within vulnerable areas where exis;ng ac;vi;es contribute to iden;fied issues. Source Protec,on Plans: policies to protect sources of municipal drinking water (legally binding and non- legally binding) 8

9 Issue Contributing Area 9

10 Drinking Water Source Protection: Where We Are Now Walkerton Water Incident (2000) Clean Water Act Passed (2006) Assessment Reports (2006+) Source Protec,on Plans - Approvals (2013+) Source Protec,on Plans - Implementa,on (2013+) Through funding from Province and strong partnerships amongst stakeholders, significant milestone achieved: all 22 Source Protec,on Plans are approved by Province, and being implemented. 10

11 The Road Ahead: Implementation Paving the Road to Success: Municipali,es: Source Protec;on Commifee members (one- third); about 60% policies implementa;on across Ontario: risk management services, educa;on, sep;c system inspec;ons, etc. Provincial government: about 30% policies implementa;on: compliance approvals, permits to take water, monitoring, etc.; provides municipal implementa;on funding. Businesses, farmers, other landowners: best management measures to protect drinking water sources 11

12 The Road Ahead: Implementation Implemen,ng Bodies: Policy Interpreta;on Business Process Changes Risk Management Services and nego;a;ons Sep;c System Inspec;ons Nega;ve media afen;on Landowners: Understanding Rights and Responsibili;es Financial impacts Community afen;on Other Legisla,on/Processes: Environmental Assessments Permit To Take Water 12

13 The Road Ahead: Implementation Implemen,ng Bodies: Business Process Changes New land use planning policies for municipal planners New Risk Management Official offices established New Risk Management Plans being nego;ated across Ontario New prohibi;on in limited areas New Orders issued in rare situa;ons Collect informa;on for mandatory annual repor;ng Mandatory data reten;on per Clean Water Act Solu,ons and Resources: ü Implementa;on Resource Guides ü Business Process Flowcharts (municipali;es, conserva;on authori;es) ü Screening Tools: Maps and Checklists (municipali;es, CAs) ü Provincial Online RMO Forum (hosted by Province of Ontario) ü Provincial RMO Working Group (hosted by Conserva;on Ontario, funded by Province of Ontario ü Sokware data reten;on and repor;ng (municipali;es, CAs) 13

14 The Road Ahead: Implementation Implemen,ng Bodies and Landowners: Nega,ve Media and Community A7en,on Few nega;ve ar;cles thus far, but as implementa;on moves forward, it is an;cipated that there could possibly be both posi;ve and nega;ve media ar;cles and community responses via social media. Solu,ons and Resources: ü Province of Ontario, local CAs, CO, municipali;es produced 300+ educa;on and outreach materials with recent focus on implementa;on. ü Province of Ontario and Conserva;on Ontario taking a proac;ve approach by developing a communica;on plan for consistent messaging. 14

15 This policy, if allowed to con,nue, will be the end of farming in certain areas of the province. 15

16 Through- out the Source Protec,on planning process the views of the agricultural community have been very present in discussions and decision- making. 16

17 The Road Ahead: Implementation Landowners: Rights and Responsibili,es Owners/operators want to know why me but not my neighbor?, for example: sep;c tank inspec;ons Understanding rights (Environmental Review Tribunal, Risk Assessment, exis;ng regulatory instruments) Understanding responsibili,es (Risk Management Plans public documents, exis;ng ac;vi;es vs. new development) Understanding water quan,ty threats Living in an Issue Contribu,ng Area Solu,ons and Resources: ü Your local Source Protec;on Commifee Sector Representa;ves; local Conserva;on Authori;es, Risk Management Official, municipal planners, Building Inspectors, Health Unit staff ü Province of Ontario Educa;on and Outreach Catalogue ü Local CA, CO, municipal Factsheets, pamphlets, brochures, etc. 17

18 The Road Ahead: Implementation Landowners: Financial Impacts Financial impact is a concern throughout implementa;on, for example: designed manure storage, sep;c tank replacement. Priority: small to medium farming opera;on owners/renters who were not subject to any legisla;on before, but now subject to local Source Protec;on Plan. Few stewardship programs consider significant drinking water threat ac;vi;es. Solu,ons and Resources: ü Source Protec;on Commifees considered financial impacts while developing SPP policies; therefore policies also encourage stewardship programs. q Include significant threat proper;es as priority criteria in stewardship programs. q Explore synergies between stewardship programs of various organiza;ons. 18

19 The Road Ahead: Implementation Road Signs: Drinking Water Protec;on Zone road signs are being installed across Ontario. Generated high media uptake and interest with the public. One of the most impactul awareness tools for drinking water source protec;on in Ontario. 19

20 Thank you. Chitra Gowda Source Water Protec,on Lead Conserva,on Ontario T: ext. 225 E: W: