Source Water Protection

MNR is a major partner in the implementation of Ontario’s Source Water Protection program.

Our role involves:

• building on our partnership with Conservation Authorities (CAs)
• leading the partnership development with Conservation Ontario (CO)
• administering program funding
• assisting with source protection planning
• delivering water budget technical guidance
• overseeing the development of water budget reports
• collaborating on science strategies
• undertaking technical studies

We are also providing support through:

• Nine District Water Resource Coordinator positions
• Surface Water Monitoring Centre
• Water Resources Information Program
• Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Rehabilitation Program

Source Water Protection is a government program led by the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) in partnership with the MNR and others to ensure safe drinking water following the Walkerton tragedy.  Justice Dennis O’Connor’s report of the Walkerton Inquiry identified Source Water Protection as the first barrier in a multi-barrier approach to ensuring safe drinking water.

Clean Water Act

On July 3, 2007, the Clean Water Act came into effect. The intent of the legislation is to ensure communities are able to protect their municipal drinking water supplies through drinking water protection plans. Communities will identify potentially significant threats to local water sources and take action to reduce or eliminate any significant risks. Municipalities, conservation authorities, property owners, farmers, industry, community groups and the public will all work together to meet common goals.

Water Budgets

A water budget is an accounting of the amounts of water that move over, through and below the ground surface including water used by humans.  The overall goal of a water budget is to quantify the various parts of the water cycle and to understand the pathways that water takes through a watershed. 

The MNR is leading the development of the Water Budget and Water Quantity Risk Assessment technical guidance document to:

• estimate the amount of water flowing through a watershed
• understand the processes and pathways of the water
• locate communities where the reliability of the water supply is questionable
• highlight key factors that may limit the reliability of these water supplies
• identify significant groundwater recharge areas