Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Region submits third Annual Progress Report to Province of Ontario

The Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Drinking Water Source Protection Committee (SPC) has approved this source protection region’s annual progress report for submission to the Province of Ontario.

The annual progress report outlines achievements made in implementing the Ausable Bayfield and Maitland Valley source protection plans, which add protection to local municipal drinking water sources.

The report is available online, as a PDF file, at the following link:

• Source Protection – Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley SPR (Documents_
•  PDF file of Third Annual Progress Report

The report is also available in other formats upon request.

The report highlights the drinking water source protection activities for the 2019 calendar year and work completed since 2015 when source protection plans (SPPs) came into effect. The outstanding efforts and ongoing support of the Source Protection Committee, municipalities, and partner agencies are greatly appreciated.

Highlights of the report include:

• Ninety-four per cent of the SPP policies that address significant drinking water threats have been fully implemented and the remainder are in progress.
• Municipalities with vulnerable areas where significant drinking water threat policies apply have processes in place to ensure that their day-to-day planning decisions conform with SPP policies. Sixty-two per cent Official Plan and zoning bylaws have been amended to conform with SPP policies. The remainder are in progress.
• There are 215 on-site sewage systems (septic systems) in this source protection region that are in the most vulnerable areas around municipal wells and subject to the mandatory re-inspection program. Ninety-nine per cent of these systems have been inspected in accordance with the Ontario Building Code.
• Ninety-nine risk management plans (RMPs) have been established in this source protection region and there is 100 per cent compliance by landowners with their individual plans.
  Ontario ministries have reviewed provincial approvals (i.e., prescribed instruments, such as environmental compliance approvals) where they have been identified as a tool in the source protection plans to address activities that pose a significant risk to sources of drinking water.
• Eighty-eight drinking water protection zone signs have been installed in the source protection region. The signs are installed on roads near municipal wells to alert citizens and emergency services that their actions in these zones can have an impact on a municipal drinking water source.

The Source Protection Committee held a virtual meeting in June of 2020 to review the implementation results, noting that significant progress has been made since the source protection plans came into effect in 2015. As most policies have been implemented, the SPC is confident that the objectives of the Plans are progressing well.

Visit the region’s local website at sourcewaterinfo.on.ca or the Province of Ontario web page at ontario.ca/page/source-protection to find out more.