Approved amendments to the Grand River Source Protection Plan, including the Grand River Assessment Report, for the Grand River Source Protection Area.

The Clean Water Act, 2006 helps communities safeguard their drinking water sources from contamination and depletion. It does this by encouraging the creation of collaborative, science-based, watershed protection plans that are locally driven and focused on prevention.

The changes to the Grand River Source Protection Plan, including the Grand River Assessment Report, reflect:

• updates to percent managed lands, livestock density, and impervious surface area data for the City of Brantford’s Drinking Water System
• the re-enumeration of the significant drinking water threat activities for the City of Brantford to realign the Plan and Assessment Report with the Technical Rules under the Clean Water Act, 2006
• new and revised measures to manage threats reflecting revised thresholds for threats (e.g., from the application, handling and storage of salt, the storage of snow, the handling and storage of fuel, etc.) and the identification of liquid hydrocarbon pipelines as a prescribed threat under the Technical Rules
• changes to the policy approaches taken to mitigate threats, including:
  • 13 new policies and eight revisions to previously approved policies to realign the plan with the Technical Rules to address threats from the handling and storage of pesticide and organic solvent, the handling, storage and application of road salt, the storage of snow, the liquid hydrocarbon pipelines
  • the removal of four policies to reflect changes to the policy approaches to threats from waste disposal sites, the application of salt, the handling and storage of salt, and the storage of snow
  • revisions to 26 additional policies to update the terminology to reflect the Technical Rules and improve Plan readability

The Grand River Source Protection Authority held consultations while the amendments were being developed. Public consultation was held from February 3, 2025, to March 10, 2025. Pursuant to the Clean Water Act, 2006, comments were invited from:

• implementing bodies (including provincial government ministries and local municipalities)
• the public and affected landowners
• bands with reserves in the affected area

The source protection authority considered and addressed comments received before submitting the proposed amendments to the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks for approval.

The minister has concluded that the comments the source protection authority received during consultation on the Grand River Source Protection Plan, including the Grand River Assessment Report, amendments have been adequately considered and addressed, and that the legislative and regulatory requirements under the Clean Water Act, 2006 relating to the amendments have been met.

These amendments take effect upon this posting of the minister’s approval on the Environmental Registry. The approved amendments to the Grand River Source Protection Plan and Grand River Assessment Report are available on the Lake Erie Source Protection Region’s website.