How it Works

The Walkerton Tragedy

In May 2000, heavy rain washed E. coli bacteria into a well providing water to the town of Walkerton. A series of human and mechanical failures allowed the bacteria to get into the municipal water supply. Seven people died and more than 2,300 became ill.

As a result, the Ontario government set up the Walkerton Inquiry under Justice Dennis O'Connor. He issued a two-volume report that set out a “multi-barrier” approach to protect municipal drinking water systems so that a similar tragedy would never happen again. This approach included the creation of scientific plans to protect existing and future sources of municipal drinking water, e.g., wells, rivers, streams and lakes, from pollution and over-use.

Clean Water Act passed

The Ontario government passed the Clean Water Act in 2006 in response to Justice Dennis O'Connor's report. The Act created the Lake Erie Region Source Protection Committee, which is one of 19 committees in the province. The committee is responsible for developing and updating source protection plans and reporting on progress implementing the plans in the Lake Erie Source Protection Region. The Region includes four watersheds: Catfish Creek, Grand River, Kettle Creek and Long Point Region. There is one plan for each watershed.

Developing, updating and approving the plans 

Developing

Our first steps to develop the original source protection plans, including the assessment reports, were to identify the sources of municipal drinking water, the areas vulnerable to pollution and over-use, and the threats to those water sources.

Next, our Lake Erie Region Source Protection Committee led the development of the four source protection plans. The plans outline policies and programs that reduce the risk posed to municipal drinking water sources by significant threats. Municipalities helped develop the policies and programs to ensure that they met local needs. We also invited the public to review and comment on the draft plans throughout their development. The public could comment at public meetings and through written submissions to the committee.  

Updating 

We have updated the plans a number of times since the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks first approved the original plans in 2014 and 2015. We update the plans when new information becomes available, and follow the same steps taken during the development of the original plans. The updates may include new or updated scientific information in the assessment reports and / or policies in the plans.  

Approving 

The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks is responsible for approving the plans, including any updates to the plans. Ministry staff review each plan in detail to make sure that the policies and programs meet the goals in the Act, and that they are effective at managing significant risks.