Approved updates to the Ganaraska and Trent Source Protection Plans

The CWA 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 Lower Trent Source Protection Authority prepared these updates to ensure the continued protection of sources of drinking water in this region.

Updates to the assessment reports

The updates to the assessment reports include:

• re-assessment of the vulnerability of the Great Lakes intakes
• updated risk assessments for above-ground fuel handling and storage and for hydrocarbon pipelines to ensure the risk these activities pose to sources of drinking water is identified and addressed
• updated mapping of significant groundwater recharge areas (SGRA), impervious surface areas, managed lands, and livestock density
• updated technical work, terminology, and concepts to align with the 2021 Technical Rules under the Clean Water Act, 2006

Updates to the source protection plans

The updated Ganaraska Region source protection plan includes changes to source protection plan policies, specifically:

• 14 new policies
• the removal of three previously approved policies
• substantive revisions to 28 previously approved policies, and
• minor revisions to 24 previously approved policies

The updated Trent source protection plan includes changes to source protection plan policies, specifically:

• 32 new policies
• the removal of seven previously approved policies
• substantive revisions to 23 previously approved policies, and
• minor revisions to 13 previously approved policies

The policy changes described above were undertaken and approved to:

• align with the approved changes to the 2021 Technical Rules under the Clean Water Act, 2006, such as to reflect changes to vulnerability scores and thresholds for activities like fuel storage and road salt
• use softer policy tools like education and outreach policies in place of a strict prohibition approach or requiring a risk management plan for small-scale threat activities (e.g., household pesticide use, small road salt storage)
• improve implementation of, and reporting on, prescribed instrument policies, and
• clarify and simplify policy text

The Lower Trent Source Protection Authority held consultations while the updates were being developed. Public consultation was held from September 1, 2023 to October 5, 2023. Pursuant to the Clean Water Act, 2006, they invited comments from:

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

Comments submitted to the Lower Trent Source Protection Authority included a combination of minor administrative or editorial comments, questions seeking clarification, and more substantive comments on some policies.

The authorities considered and addressed comments received during consultation and made appropriate revisions to the plan before submitting the proposed updates to the Ministry for approval.

• The questions and comments received from the public during consultation sought clarification and further information about the updates, with no significant concerns raised. None of the public comments resulted in changes to the proposed updates
• Comments from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks resulted in both minor and substantive changes to policies in both the Ganaraska and Trent Source Protection Plans and Assessment Reports
• Comments from Conservation Authority staff resulted in minor changes to the Source Protection Plans

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

These updates take effect upon this posting of the Minister’s approval on the Environmental Registry. The approved updates to the Ganaraska and Trent Source Protection Plans and the Ganaraska and Trent Assessment Reports are available on the Trent Conservation Coalition Source Protection Region website.