New source protection online mapping video is for realtors, certified crop advisors and property owners
A new video shares convenient online drinking water source protection mapping tools that will be of interest to real estate agents, certified crop advisors, farmers, and property owners, especially those interested in purchasing or leasing property.
The video features realtor Rick Lobb; certified crop advisor Mervyn Erb; and local source protection committee agricultural representatives Mary Ellen Foran and Bert Dykstra.
The new video (Online Mapping Tools for Real Estate, Farming, and You) may be viewed on the Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection website at:
This video shows how to find and use the province-wide online Source Protection Information Atlas as well as the vulnerable area mapping layers also available on the provincial Ag Maps portal; county interactive mapping; and the Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection website.
For a link to the Atlas mapping portal, visit:
This is the seventh in a recent series of popular local source protection videos released during the pandemic. The series has received more than 18,000 views.
The Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Committee released the video on October 18, 2021.
Other videos in the series, available on the source protection website, include:
- Introduction to Source Protection Videos – Matt Pearson, Chair
- Seaforth Well Tour – Alyssa Keller, Public-at-large
- Protecting Water in the Goderich Harbour – Rowland Howe, Industry
- Goderich Water Treatment Plant – John Graham, Environment
- Protecting the Groundwater in our Aquifers – Jennette Walker, Environment
- Drinking Water Protection Zones – Dave Frayne, Municipal
Stay tuned for more videos from members as they continue to inform people about where their drinking water comes from, how to protect it and where to find more information.
Matt Pearson, Source Protection Committee Chair said, “With the current red-hot real estate market, people need to be aware when they are looking at purchasing or leasing in wellhead protection areas that there may be policies that prohibit or restrict activities to protect municipal water supplies from possible contamination.” This can include policies for fuel, waste oil, septic systems, chemicals and activities such as fertilizer, pesticide and manure application. He said the new video helps certified crop advisors, realtors, property owners and prospective property purchasers/leasers to learn the location of wellhead protection areas and to add source protection to their current property research list. He noted that, as social physical distancing and venue capacity restrictions continue and fewer in-person events are taking place during the pandemic, the videos are a great way for committee members to continue to reach out in a personal way.
The videos will also be posted on Facebook and the Ausable Bayfield YouTube channel.
