GOLFNORTH PROPERTIES INC. - Permit to take water

Instrument type: Permit to take water

ERO number
026-0275
Ministry reference number
1000419187
Notice type
Instrument
Act
Ontario Water Resources Act, R.S.O. 1990
Posted by
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Notice stage
Decision
Decision posted
Comment period
March 16, 2026 - April 15, 2026 (30 days) Closed
Last updated

This consultation was open from:
March 16, 2026
to April 15, 2026

Decision summary

Permit to Take Water No P-300-1419188864 was issued to GOLFNORTH PROPERTIES INC. to renew Permit to Take Water No. 6253-A9ER9L for golf course irrigation purposes. Water will be taken from one well and one pond for golf course irrigation purposes in Thamesford, Ontario for 10 years.

Location details

Site address

5714 Cobble Hills Road
Zorra, ON
Canada

Site location map

The location pin reflects the approximate area where environmental activity is taking place.

View this location on a map opens link in a new window

Proponent(s)

GOLFNORTH PROPERTIES INC.
400 Golf Course Road
Conestogo, ON
N0B1N0
Canada

Decision details

Permit to Take Water No. P-300-1419188864 was issued to GOLFNORTH PROPERTIES INC. to renew Permit to Take Water No. 6253-A9ER9L for golf course irrigation purposes. Water will be taken from one well and one pond for golf course irrigation purposes in Thamesford, Ontario for 10 years.

Details of the water taking are as follows:

Permit type - Renewal

Source Name : Well, drilled

  • purpose: golf course irrigation
  • maximum rate per minute (litres/minute): 270
  • maximum number of hours of taking per day: 8
  • maximum volume per day (litres): 129,600
  • maximum number of days of taking per year: 60
  • earliest calendar date of taking (mm/dd): April 1
  • latest calendar date of taking (mm/dd): September 30
  • period of taking: 10 years

Source Name : Pond

  • purpose: golf course irrigation (commercial)
  • maximum rate per minute (litres/minute): 1,364
  • maximum number of hours of taking per day: 18
  • maximum volume per day (litres): 909,200
  • maximum number of days of taking per year: 100
  • earliest calendar date of taking (mm/dd): April 1
  • latest calendar date of taking (mm/dd): September 30
  • period of taking: 10 years

The ministry has decided to issue this permit for a period of 10 years.

Issued Permits to Take Water can be viewed and downloaded at Access Ontario, by searching the approval number, P-300-1419188864, in the search field located at the top of the map, see "I want to...Search by Approval Number", here: Access Environment

Access Environment displays the following information:

  • business name
  • facility address and location on an interactive map
  • type of approval or registration from the ministry (view a PDF copy)
  • date of issue
  • status of the approval (approved, amended, revoked and/or replaced)
  • status of the registration (registered, suspended, removed)

Comments received

Through the registry

1

By email

0

By mail

0
View comments submitted through the registry

Effects of consultation

Comments relevant to the water taking proposal were considered as part of the review of the application. The main concerns raised were regarding the following:

  • The sustainability of this taking among increasing competition from other users for groundwater resources;
  • Water monitoring and reporting requirements to assess the impacts of the water taking; How the Ministry determined this application met the criteria for a Category 1, low risk taking; and
  • How the Ministry prioritizes between different water uses

The concerns were addressed by the following:

  • Permitted water takings have been occurring at this site for several decades. This application requests a renewal of the rates and volumes that have been permitted for the past 20 years, during which no impacts have been observed or complaints received. This proposal was assessed as a category 1 application according to the criteria presented on Ontario.ca (see Table 1, at the following website: https://www.ontario.ca/page/guide-permit-take-waterapplication-form)
  • The Permit Holder is required by the conditions of the Permit to record and report all water takings to the Ministry. The previous Permit also included a condition requiring the Permit Holder to monitor water levels in the pumping well to ensure the taking was not impacting the groundwater resource. The monitoring results were reviewed by the Ministry and demonstrated that the water taking was not impacting groundwater levels. The monitoring requirements for the previous Permit have been included on the renewed Permit to allow for continued assessment of this taking
  • The Ministry assesses all Permit to Take Water applications to ensure fair sharing amongst users while protecting the sustainability of the resource. The Ministry has determined that this water taking is sustainable and will not impacts other water users or environmental functions over the Permit term

Supporting materials

View materials in person

Some supporting materials may not be available online. If this is the case, you can request to view the materials in person.

Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.

Client Services and Permissions Branch
Address

40 St. Clair Avenue West
Floor 2
Toronto, ON
M4V 1M2
Canada

Office phone number

How to Appeal

This instrument decision can be appealed. You have 15 days from August 28, 2026 to begin the appeal process.

Carefully review the information below to learn more about the appeal process.

How to appealClick to Expand Accordion

Start the process to appeal

If you’re an Ontario resident, you can start the process to appeal this instrument decision.

First, you’ll need to seek leave (i.e. get permission) from the relevant appellate body to appeal the decision.

If the appellate body grants leave, the appeal itself will follow.

Seek leave to appeal

To seek leave to appeal, you need to do these three things:

  1. prepare your application
  2. provide notice to the minister
  3. mail your application to three parties

1. Prepare your application

You’ll need to prepare an application. You may wish to include the following things in your application:

  1. A document that includes:
    • your name, phone number, fax number (if any), and/or email address
    • the ERO number and ministry reference number (located on this page)
    • a statement about whether you are a resident in Ontario
    • your interest in the decision, and any facts you want taken into account in deciding whether you have an interest in the decision
    • the parts of the instrument that you’re challenging
    • whether the decision could result in significant harm to the environment
    • the reason(s) why you believe that no reasonable person – having regard to the relevant law and to any government policies developed to guide decisions of that kind – could have made the decision
    • the grounds (facts) you’ll be using to appeal
    • the outcome you’d like to see
  2. A copy of the instrument (approval, permit, order) that you you are seeking leave to appeal. You’ll find this in the decision notice on the Environmental Registry
  3. Copies of all supporting documents, facts and evidence that you’ll be using to appeal
What is considered

The appeal body will consider the following two questions in deciding whether to grant you leave to appeal:

  1. is there is good reason to believe that no reasonable person, with respect to the relevant law and to any government policies developed to guide decisions of that kind, could have made the decision?
  2. could the decision you wish to appeal result in significant harm to the environment?

2. Provide your notice

You’ll need to provide notice to the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks that you’re seeking leave to appeal.

In your notice, please include a brief description of the:

  • decision that you wish to appeal
  • grounds for granting leave to appeal

You can provide notice by email at minister.mecp@ontario.ca or by mail at:

College Park 5th Floor, 777 Bay St.
Toronto, ON
M7A 2J3

3. Mail your application

You’ll need to mail your application that you prepared in step #1 to each of these three parties:

  • appellate body
  • issuing authority (the ministry official who issued the instrument)
  • proponent (the company or individual to whom the instrument was issued)


Proponent(s)

GOLFNORTH PROPERTIES INC.
400 Golf Course Road
Conestogo, ON
N0B1N0
Canada


Appellate body

Registrar, Ontario Land Tribunal
655 Bay Street, Suite 1500
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 1E5
(416) 212-6349
(866) 448-2248
OLT.Registrar@ontario.ca

About the Ontario Land Tribunal


Include the following:

ERO number
026-0275
Ministry reference number
1000419187

This is not legal advice. Please refer to the Environmental Bill of Rights for exact legal requirements. Consult a lawyer if you need help with the appeal process.

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Original proposal

ERO number
026-0275
Ministry reference number
1000419187
Notice type
Instrument
Act
Ontario Water Resources Act, R.S.O. 1990
Posted by
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Proposal posted

Comment period

March 16, 2026 - April 15, 2026 (30 days)

Proposal details

This proposal is for a renewal to Permit to Take Water No. 6253-A9ER9L for GOLFNORTH PROPERTIES INC.. Water will be taken from one well and one pond for golf course irrigation purposes in Thamesford, Ontario. Details of the water taking are as follows:

Permit type - Renewal

Source Name : Well, drilled

  • purpose: golf course irrigation
  • maximum rate per minute (litres/minute): 270
  • maximum number of hours of taking per day: 8
  • maximum volume per day (litres): 129,600
  • maximum number of days of taking per year: 60
  • earliest calendar date of taking (mm/dd): April 1
  • latest calendar date of taking (mm/dd): September 30
  • period of taking: 10 years

Source Name : Pond

  • purpose: golf course irrigation (commercial)
  • maximum rate per minute (litres/minute): 1,364
  • maximum number of hours of taking per day: 18
  • maximum volume per day (litres): 909,200
  • maximum number of days of taking per year: 100
  • earliest calendar date of taking (mm/dd): April 1
  • latest calendar date of taking (mm/dd): September 30
  • period of taking: 10 years

There are 3 categories of a Permit to Take Water:

  • Category 1: water takings are anticipated to have a lower risk of causing an unacceptable environmental impact/interference
  • Category 2: water takings are anticipated to having a higher potential of causing unacceptable environmental impact or interference
  • Category 3: water takings are anticipated to have the highest potential of causing unacceptable environmental impactor interference

The proposed water taking qualifies as a Category 1 permit

Supporting materials

View materials in person

Some supporting materials may not be available online. If this is the case, you can request to view the materials in person.

Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.

Client Services and Permissions Branch
Address

40 St. Clair Avenue West
Floor 2
Toronto, ON
M4V 1M2
Canada

Office phone number

Comment

Commenting is now closed.

This consultation was open from March 16, 2026
to April 15, 2026

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