Pursuant to the Clean Water Act, the South Georgian Bay Lake Simcoe Source Protection Plan (SPP) was approved by the Ministry of the Environment on January 26, 2015 and became effective on July 1, 2015. More information about the Source Protection Plan can be found on the Drinking Water Source Protection for South Georgian Bay Lake Simcoe Region's website.
Any new development that requires Planning Act approval and will be larger than 500 square meters will require the submission of a Hydrogeological Study, as required by Policy LUP-12 of the SPP.
In addition to the above, pursuant to Section 39 of the Clean Water Act, all decisions under the Planning Act or the Condominium Act, 1998 made by Council shall conform with the significant threat policies and designated Great Lakes policies set out in a source protection plan and have regard to the other policies set out in the Source Protection Plan.
| What is Source Water? |
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Source water is the untreated water from streams, lakes, rivers or underground aquifers that is used to supply people with drinking water. |
| What is Source Water Protection? |
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Source Water Protection is about protecting sources of drinking water from overuse and contamination. It’s one component of Ontario’s multi-barrier approach to ensure clean and safe drinking water from source to tap. The best way to ensure we have safe drinking water now, and in the future, is to protect it at its source. |
| Why do we protect Source Water? |
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In May 2000 the water supply of the small town of Walkerton, Ontario became contaminated with E. coli bacteria. Seven residents died and thousands became ill dubbing this tragedy the worst water related outbreak in Canada. In response to the Walkerton water contamination tragedy, the Province of Ontario developed the Clean Water Act with a goal of safeguarding municipal drinking water from source to tap. Source Water Protection is now at the forefront of municipal planning. |
| Which areas do we protect? |
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Wellhead Protection Areas Schedule 'G' of the new Official Plan provide a location map of the Wellhead Protection Areas. |
| What do we protect these areas from? |
Potential threats to drinking water sources include:
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| How do we protect these areas? |
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Our local Source Protection Plan is a science-based plan to protect our municipal drinking water supply from threats of contamination and overuse. Policies in the Source Protection Plan require government, businesses, developers and residents to take action to make sure drinking water sources are protected from potential threats. More information about the Source Protection Plan can be found on the Drinking Water Source Protection for South Georgian Bay Lake Simcoe Region's website. |