A report on municipal drinking water systems in the Grand River watershed is now available for review and comment by the public.
The 1,000-page Draft Assessment Report for the Grand River watershed provides information on municipal drinking water systems serving more than 770,000 people.
The public consultation period began Aug. 16 and ends Sept. 24.
The report describes the sources of water used by the municipal systems, how vulnerable they are to contamination and the types of activities taking place in vulnerable areas that could contaminate the water sources.
The report is a step in the multi-year process of developing a source water protection plan for the municipal water systems. The plan will identify the policies and programs needed to reduce the risks to source water posed by human activities. The plan is scheduled to be completed by August 2012.
That effort is being overseen by the Lake Erie region source protection committee, which on Aug. 12 approved release of the report for public consultation. The committee was set up under the Ontario Clean Water Act, which was passed by the Ontario legislature in response to the Walkerton water crisis.
More information on the report, the Clean Water Act, and source water protection is at www.sourcewater.ca.
The report can be seen at:
– www.sourcewater.ca;
– at the GRCA office, 400 Clyde Rd., Cambridge;and
– at municipal and First Nations offices throughout the watershed. A complete list of offices is available on the website.
People can learn more about the report and make comments at five public meetings that are scheduled for:
– Sept. 8, Grand Valley, at the Grand Valley community centre, 90 Main Street North;
– Sept. 9, Waterloo: Waterloo Region Emergency Services Training and Research Complex, 1010 Erbs Road;
– Sept. 13, Cambridge, GRCA office, 400 Clyde Road;
– Sept. 14, Guelph: Italian Canadian Club, 135 Ferguson Street; and
– Sept. 15, Brantford: Tranquility Hall, 135 Francis Street.
All meetings run from 7 to 9 pm.
People can comment in writing by:
– e-mail to comments@sourcewater.ca;
– fax, 519-621-4945; or
– mail to Martin Keller, Source Protection Program Manager, Lake Erie Source Protection Region, c/o Grand River Conservation Authority 400 Clyde Road, Cambridge ON, N1R 5W6.
