Aquaterra Corporation Ltd. - Permit to take water

The ministry considered all of the comments received during the public consultation and notification periods during the technical review of the application.

One comment was received from the Town of Erin.

• The Town identified that the ministry should consider the presence of the highly vulnerable aquifers and significant groundwater recharge areas in their review. Based on our technical review, it was identified that the bedrock well is located in a confined aquifer, and the well is artesian and flowing at surface. Although the property may be located geographically in a groundwater recharge area, the designation is likely limited to the shallow overburden aquifer.


• The Town identified support for monitoring, including monitoring of potential impacts to local water users, and conditions related to low water response. Based on our technical review, the magnitude of water taking, hydrogeologic setting of the taking, and history of no interference, we have not required any water level monitoring in this Permit to Take Water (PTTW). Condition 5.2 requires that in the event of interference, the Permit Holder shall take such action necessary to make available to those affected, a supply of water equivalent in quantity and quality to their normal takings, or shall compensate such persons for their reasonable costs of so doing, or shall reduce the rate and amount of taking to prevent or alleviate the observed negative impact. A low water response program was not deemed to be required because this taking activity is from a confined bedrock aquifer.


• The Town recommended a 5-year duration for the PTTW. The PTTW was issued for 5 years, as requested by the applicant. This will allow the ministry to review and confirm that this taking remains sustainable. It should also be noted that the ministry utilizes an adaptive management approach as part of the PTTW program and can amend permits at any time to reflect changing conditions.

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

Ontario has strengthened groundwater protection by:

1. Enhancing Ontario’s water taking program through regulatory amendments and providing new guidance to help permit holders to understand the new rules and how to operate within them.
2. Giving host municipalities more direct input on allowing bottled water companies to withdraw new or increased amounts of groundwater in their communities.
3. Charging a water bottling fee for water bottling companies that take groundwater, effective August 1, 2017
4. Hiring an experienced water resources consulting firm, BluMetric Environmental Inc., to assess water resources in the province, in addition to our own ongoing review and analysis of water taking in Ontario.
5. Validating the ministry’s findings on water bottling through an independent third-party panel from the Professional Geoscientists Ontario.

In Ontario, water bottling facilities must apply for permits to take water from groundwater sources if the facility plans to take more than 50,000 litres of water on any day.

Groundwater is water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock. It supplies water in wells and some streams, lakes and wetlands.

Ontario is committed to protecting water resources for families now and for future generations. It’s even more important as our population grows, and during hot conditions and periods of drought, which are projected to become more frequent because of climate change.

The independent third-party review validated our findings that water takings for bottling are managed sustainably in Ontario under existing legislation, regulation and guidance and are not impacting the sustainability of groundwater resources.

Notification to Indigenous Communities

The following Indigenous communities were notified and provided details of the proposed permit renewal:

• Six Nations of the Grand River
• Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nations
• Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council

No comments were received from First Nations communities.