Thank you for the…

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed amendments to the Director’s Technical Rules made under section 107 of the Clean Water Act, 2006.

The theme seen within these proposed technical rule changes is ‘optional’. While flexibility within a source protection program is appreciated, optional work to further protect sources will only create and promote protection inequality amongst drinking water systems where some implement optional work and other do not. Keep in mind, recent changes to the Conservation Authorities Act include the definition of mandatory programs and how they are funded, of which source water protection is one of them.

The province will no longer fund source water protection work and it is now the responsibility of the municipality. This raises concerns over who will pay for non-mandatory components of a mandatory program. Municipalities are already required to fund all technical work related to source protection when the source water is altered (i.e. changing/adding/removing of an intake or well) under O. Reg. 205/18 (municipal residential drinking water systems in source protection areas) will the province provide any financial support? Secondly, the previous funding model included a review by the province where the province would specify what work they would fund and what work would need to be covered by other means (mandatory vs. non-mandatory). Will consultation be required with municipalities prior to the implementation of optional work? If not, we strongly encourage consultation with municipalities over and beyond source protection committee representatives.

In general, we are in support of the changes to the table of circumstances. We would, however, like to make one comment in regard to road salt application and storage. Sodium and chloride levels in source water will not be drastically reduced until such time that owner/occupier/contractor liability is addressed. With the current liability framework in place, reductions to road salt application is difficult to influence with only education and outreach or other soft techniques. Road salt application is cumulative and while some properties may qualify for Part IV tools (risk management plants) to manage the threat, more must be done.