Please find the attached…

Please find the attached report from The Region of Waterloo in response to the Get It Done Act, 2024 - Amending the Official Plan Adjustments Act, 2023.

Below is a brief summary of the attachment.

The Waterloo Moraine is the primary source for groundwater recharge in Waterloo
Region. The moraine is protected in the Region Official Plan (ROP), Policy 7.B.23,
with Regional Recharge Area designation which restricts development on the
moraine. Protection of the moraine is essential for the quantity of water supply and
the quality of the water.

Ontario uses a multi-barrier approach to protecting drinking water safety which
includes source protection. This is intended to keep the raw water as clean as
possible to lower the risk that contaminants will get through or overwhelm the
treatment system.

At least 75% of Waterloo Region’s drinking water is primarily drawn from
groundwater through water supply wells. Groundwater wells in the Kitchener and Waterloo area are almost exclusively drawn from aquifers of the Waterloo
Moraine.

Bill 162 proposes modifications to the Regional Official Plan (ROP). Based on a
preliminary review of the mapping associated with Bill 162, the modifications
include adding an expansion to the Urban Area beyond the Countryside Line and
onto the Regional Recharge Area in Southwest Kitchener.

If development happens in the Regional Recharge area, there will be less water
available to shallow and deep municipal supply aquifers of the Waterloo Moraine.
This threatens the sustainability of drinking water supply to current and future
residents in the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo, and the Townships
of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot, and Woolwich.

Reduced recharge will restrict the Region’s ability to maintain and enhance
capacity of the Region’s water supplies. This could lead to a reduced amount of
water supply to support future homes. Development could also degrade water
quality at urban well fields due to road salt application, which could result in the
loss of available urban water supplies, further restricting growth.

Reduced and lost water supplies resulting from land use decisions will significantly
impact the building of new homes as the quantity of water available to service new
development may impact the ability of the area municipalities to meet housing
targets in the Region as water supply capacity may be considerably reduced. In
addition, it could accelerate the need for a pipeline connection to Lake Erie.