Updating Ontario’s Water Quantity Management Framework

What we heard

We received a total of 5,283 written comments, including comments from individuals and organizations, as well as two letter writing campaigns.

We received comments from:

• municipalities
• water bottling industry
• environmental non-government organizations
• conservation authorities
• Indigenous communities and organizations
• professional society/associations
• agriculture sector
• industry
• academia
• members of the public

The majority of comments support updating Ontario’s water quantity management framework, the regulatory changes, and the ministry’s efforts to protect vital water supplies and ensure the long-term sustainability of water resources now and into the future.

Below is a summary of the main themes heard during the engagement period:

• generally supportive of the proposed changes and believe that these actions have the potential to improve water quantity management in the province
• supportive of establishing provincial priorities of water use and prioritizing the environment and drinking water among the highest priorities. The agriculture sector is supportive of agricultural uses being prioritized among the highest water uses
• general support for replacing static high use watershed maps and the rules governing the issuance of permits in those high use watersheds with a flexible and adaptive area-based approach and increasing consideration of cumulative effects
• supportive of area-based approach being applied as a tool of last resort
• generally supportive of the proposal to give municipalities more input into water bottling decisions
• very supportive of the ministry sharing water taking data online and making this data easily accessible and understandable
• supportive of the ministry developing guidance to provide clarity on the implementation of the proposed regulatory changes

While the majority of comments were supportive of the proposal, a few concerns were raised:

• concerns about the water bottling industry related to the commodification and privatization of water for profit, water security and the implications of climate change, and plastic waste. Many submissions advocate for a permanent moratorium or outright ban on bottled water permits
• concerns that industrial and commercial uses on municipal supply would be captured in the highest priority. Some municipalities were concerned that the priority of use policies cannot be used to ‘reserve’ water for long-term future municipal needs
• while most stakeholders have said that Ontarians deserve access to the information on how our water is being managed and how much is being used by permit holders, some agricultural stakeholders had concerns with the sharing of daily water taking information that may identify an agricultural water taking permit holder
• Ontario should recognize Indigenous treaty rights to water, and Duty to Consult obligations and the need to reflect/consider traditional knowledge/Indigenous cultural/ spiritual values in water polices and water decisions

For comments regarding the ministry’s proposal to require water bottling companies to have the support of their local host municipality for a new or increased groundwater taking in their community, please view the Decision Notice posted on the Environmental Registry ERO# 019-2422

Throughout the consultation period, we heard the need for more clarity on how the proposals would be implemented. As a result, in Fall 2020, the ministry extended the bottled water moratorium until April 1, 2021 to give us time to thoroughly review and consider the feedback received on our proposed enhancements to Ontario’s water taking program, as well as to further engage the public, stakeholders and Indigenous communities on how to implement those proposed enhancements before the moratorium ended.

Response

All of the comments received during the Environmental Registry posting, as well as comments received during our engagement meetings were considered. No significant changes have been made to the original proposal.

The ministry thoroughly reviewed the province’s water taking policies, programs and science tools and had an independent third-party review the findings on bottled water takings, which was completed by a panel of experts from Professional Geoscientists Ontario.

The review confirmed that:

• we have a strong foundation of policies, programs and science tools to manage water takings
• groundwater takings for water bottling are being managed sustainably in the province

We have identified opportunities to improve how we manage water takings in parts of Ontario where water availability is or could become a concern. The updates to Ontario’s water taking program will help to sustain water resources that support our ecosystems and communities and provide greater water security to water users.

Also, to address some of the feedback we received on the proposed enhancements to the water taking program, we clarified the implementation guidance with respect to:

• when an area-based approach may be used to manage water takings in a water quantity stressed area
• the importance of engagement throughout area-based strategy development, including direct notification to water users, Indigenous communities and organizations, municipalities, and others of intent to develop a strategy and seek input on a draft strategy
• how area-based strategies align with other provincial and local water management programs, including drinking water source protection
• the consideration of the drinking water portion of water uses and certain essential water uses that must be maintained to protect health and safety (e.g. food safety) and maintain food security in the province (e.g., continuing processing of locally grown products) regardless of the priority level of a particular user

For more details on the implementation guidance, please view the Decision Notice posted on the Environmental Registry ERO#019-2017