Nestlé Waters Canada has signed an agreement to provide the City of Guelph with data to ensure that the groundwater model used for the application for renewal of its permit is the most comprehensive available.
The use of the city’s groundwater model is anticipated to ensure the most robust analysis of Nestlé’s water takings at Aberfoyle and Erin.
As per the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change’s new technical requirements for water bottlers in the province of Ontario, Nestlé Waters Canada will be accessing the closest municipality’s Tier 3 groundwater model in order to complete permit renewal applications for Aberfoyle and Erin.
“We are looking forward to providing the City of Guelph our data to refine their groundwater model. Nestlé Waters Canada has more than 17 years of reliable and independently reviewed data,” said Dr. Andreanne Simard, Nestlé Waters Canada’s natural resource manager. “In doing so, we are ensuring that our permit renewal applications are backed by the best available science.”
The groundwater model was developed by the city with the Grand River Conservation Authority and Guelph-Eramosa Township to determine the effects of water-taking impacts on groundwater availability.
Nestlé Waters Canada’s water-taking application will be posted on Ontario’s Environmental Registry after it has been submitted, at which point the public and the city will have an opportunity to review and comment.
“It’s important that people understand that this data sharing agreement is not an endorsement for Nestlé Water Canada’s water taking applications, rather it’s a matter of ensuring the best available science is used to evaluate any water taking application and is therefore in our community’s best interests,” says Peter Busatto, Guelph’s general manager of environmental services.
Data sharing will benefit both the city and the Guelph community in a number of ways, including:
– improving and updating the city’s model by incorporation of Nestlé Waters Canada data from hydrogeological (occurrence and distribution of water) studies on their property;
– ensuring the best possible science is used to assess water-taking applications and renewals; and
– ensuring that water taking permit applications in the same area are using the same science and data for analysis.
The city will retain ownership and control over the model and any data that is added. Nestlé Waters Canada will pay for the consultant’s costs and the consultant will work through the city, providing results from the model to Nestlé Waters Canada.
