Watershed planning guidance

Description of policy

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) and Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) are seeking input on draft watershed planning guidance for municipalities and other planning authorities in Ontario.

This proposed guidance is being posted for a 60-day review period and comments are welcome. Comments will be taken into consideration, along with input received through additional consultation opportunities.

Watershed Planning Guidance supports the implementation of policy amendments to the four provincial land use plans (Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, Niagara Escarpment Plan, Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, Greenbelt Plan) which strengthen requirements for watershed planning. It also supports the Provincial Policy Statement which identifies the watershed and subwatershed as the ecologically meaningful scale for integrated and long-term planning.

Watershed planning is an opportunity for municipalities and other planning authorities to work collaboratively towards watershed objectives by creating a framework for the management of human activities, land, water, aquatic life and resources within a watershed, and for the assessment of cumulative, cross-jurisdictional and cross-watershed impacts.

The draft Watershed Planning Guidance contains the following information to help municipalities and planning authorities to carry out watershed planning:

• Overview of watershed and subwatershed planning, including policy context, key principles, process and components of a watershed plan.
• Direction on carrying out effective and meaningful engagement.
• Indigenous interests and considerations in watershed planning.
• How to prepare elements of a watershed and subwatershed plan including:
  • Watershed delineation and characterization;
  • Setting the vision, objectives, goals and targets;
  • Water budget and conservation plans;
  • Water quality and nutrient loading assessments;
  • Natural hazards considerations;
  • Climate change considerations;
  • Connections to natural systems;
  • Cumulative impact assessment;
  • Land use and management scenarios; and
  • Monitoring and adaptive management.
• How to use watershed and subwatershed planning to inform land use and infrastructure planning and decision-making.

Purpose of policy

The purpose of Watershed Planning Guidance is:

• To support watershed and subwatershed planning by municipalities and other land use planning authorities in Ontario.
• To support policy amendments made through the Coordinated Plan Review (2017) which includes amendments to the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the Greenbelt Plan, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan and the Niagara Escarpment Plan. These policy amendments set stronger requirements for municipalities and other planning authorities to undertake watershed and subwatershed planning to inform key land use planning and infrastructure decisions.
• To support policy direction made through the province-wide Provincial Policy Statement (2014) which requires planning authorities to protect, improve or restore the quality and quantity of water by using the watershed as the ecologically meaningful scale for integrated and long-term planning.
• To support the achievement of various goals associated with other provincial plans and policies including the Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health, the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan, source protection plans created under the Ontario Clean Water Act , Ontario’s Biodiversity Strategy and Ontario’s Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan.