Municipality
The Municipality of Bluewater provides clean, safe drinking water from the Zurich municipal well system to more than 1,000 people.
Impacts of Plans
Your local source protection committee, for the Maitland Valley and Ausable Bayfield areas, has prepared drinking water source protection plans. The Province of Ontario has approved these plans which took effect in April of 2015.
These plans help to keep your drinking water safe. Plan policies may require action from you if you are located in municipal wellhead protection area (WHPA) zone A, B or C. Please click on the map link for wellhead protection areas.
Please click on the Plans tab for plan policies that may apply to you.
Information
Current information is available by visiting the Assessment Reports section of this website. The following is for local information purposes and may be subject to change.
Your Community Well System
The following is a description of the Zuruch well system:
Well Description
- There are two municipal groundwater wells in the Zurich Well System.
- Zurich Wells Number One and Three were built in 1963.
- Zurich Well Number One is 88.4 metres deep.
- Well Number Three has a depth of 97.5 metres.
- Annual water reports can be found at the municipal website at municipalityofbluewater.ca
- The wells and wellhead protection areas are in Ausable Bayfield Source Protection Area.
From where does the water come?
The two municipal wells draw groundwater from an aquifer. Aquifers collect water underground much like a sponge collects water. The municipality draws that water from underground through the municipal well.
How is the Water Treated and Distributed?
Operators must adhere to strict requirements for the treatment, testing and distribution of drinking water specified in the Safe Drinking Water Act. Ontario Drinking Water Quality Standards require compliance.
How is the drinking water source protected?
Ontario’s Clean Water Act, 2006 was created to protect drinking water at the source as the first of several barriers of protection. Other barriers of defence include monitoring, distribution, and the three Ts (testing; treatment; and training of water operators).
If there is a discrepancy between the information included here and the Approved Amended Assessment Reports, the information in the Assessment Reports usually prevails.
Contact us with your questions, by phone or email, or click on your community link to find maps and information on policy impacts, and how you can help to keep your community’s drinking water safe and clean. Thank you.
