Drought conditions are…

Drought conditions are occurring more often due to climate change and the Ministry is priority is to be responsible to protect groundwater. Not all permits are or should be treated equally, it is the government’s duty to protect groundwater and to prioritize water taking in favour of reasonable community use. Community includes the whole of nature...trees, plant life, animals as the priority. Let nature tell us how best to conserve and replenish, not for profit entities. Personally, I find the whole idea of bottling water into plastic bottles a paradox and in no small way, contributing to the plastic humans and nature is consuming unintentionally.

Without reassessment when permits expire, it is the optimal time to reevaluate and assess public reporting on hydrological information for the province : Does the rate of groundwater withdrawal exceeds the rate of natural recharge? Otherwise the lack of evaluation might lead to a variety of negative consequences, including lowering of the water table, reduced stream and lake levels, land subsidence, increased pumping costs, and water quality deterioration. The Ministry needs it's own periodic re-evaluation and data and not to rely on the profit based company's reports to make the assessment objectively.

Reforms to Ontario laws and policies must prioritize and protect Ontario’s rivers, lakes and groundwater. The Ministry needs to prioritize water uses, remove barriers to declaring a Level 3 drought and conduct cumulative impact assessments of water takings.