How Can You Help Protect Our Water?

Recent water research shows that, in general, there is a sufficient amount of good quality water (despite the occasional seasonal gaps or man-made problems) for most everything we want to do here in Eastern Ontario including maintaining a healthy aquatic environment. We know that water is in constant motion and that it occurs in many forms in our area. We learned that around 20% of the Mississippi-Rideau area is made up surface water of one kind or another. And that there is no guarantee that the regular replenishment of groundwater and lakes by seasonal rainfall and snowmelt will continue as it has in the past. We know that several different layers of government and many different government agencies have the responsibility to protect various aspects of our water supply and its quality.

So, in the face of all this water knowledge and responsibility, is there anything that one small Eastern Ontario family or even an individual can do to help protect our valuable supply of clean water?

Indeed there is. There are scores of tips about conserving our water supplies at home, school and office. They include fixing dripping taps, brushing your teeth with the water turned off and using the clothes and dish washers only when full.

It is all about reducing the unnecessary amount of water we use each day (more than 300 litres compared to Europe and Scandinavia at about half that per person per day) and not degrading or abusing the quality of our water by adding harmful substances. In other words, lower quantity and higher quality is the goal.

Here are the top three easy fixes around the house that would be big steps in the right direction…if you can accomplish these, Ontario will be well on the way to protecting our water:

• Make sure that your family’s septic system is functioning properly. Faulty/old/non-existent septic systems are one of the prime sources of contamination of surface and groundwater in our area. Call your municipality’s septic service provider (either the Health Unit, the municipality itself or the Conservation Authority) for advice on how to do it. This one step is the single best action you can take to protect water quality.

• Next time you replace that old toilet or shower head, take the opportunity to replace the dinosaur with a modern, new low-flow device. There are lots of models available and this one step will help reduce the quantity of water that your family consumes and flushes down the drain each day without any real hardship on your part.

• If you have property (especially near a lake or watercourse), plant a tree in May for each of your children for each of the next ten years. If you live in an apartment, urge the building owner to allow you to plant a few trees on the grounds. Trees are nature’s little environmental cleaning stations that purify the air and water, improve the soil, provide wildlife habitat, buffer wind and noise and they do it all for free for up to 80 years. Planting a tree is the single most effective all-around action you can take to ensure a healthy natural environment for the next generation.

For more information: Sommer Casgrain-Robertson

Co-Project Manager

Mississippi-Rideau Source Protection Region

1-800-267-3504 or 613-692-3571 ext 1147

sommer.robertson@mrsourcewater.ca

Who Protects Our Water?

We all know humans depend on clean water to survive.  We need it for cooking, cleaning and most importantly drinking!  Water is also critical to plants and animals, especially fish; it is essential for agriculture and industry; it adds value to properties; and it provides many recreational opportunities.  So who ensures that water in Eastern Ontario stays clean and is used wisely? Read on to discover the many people involved.

Wetlands:  You find wetlands (marshes, swamps, bogs and fens) along the edges of lakes, rivers and streams and in low lying areas where water pools either some or all of the year.  In Ontario, it is the Ministry of Natural Resources (www.mnr.gov.on.ca <http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/> ) and some municipalities, who identify and map wetlands that need to be protected.  Conservation Authorities (www.conservation-ontario.on.ca <http://www.conservation-ontario.on.ca/> ) then protect these wetlands by limiting what development can take place in, or within 120 metres, of these wetlands.  Why protect wetlands?  Because they provide many benefits like reducing erosion and flooding, improving water quality, providing wildlife habitat and promoting groundwater recharge.  

Lakes/Rivers/Streams & Groundwater:  Just like your regular visit to the doctor, conservation authorities and their volunteers regularly perform "check-ups" on lakes, rivers and streams to see if they are healthy.  They check water temperature and quality and the types of bugs, fish and plants that are living in the water.  Similarly, Conservation authorities and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (www.ene.gov.on.ca <http://www.ene.gov.on.ca> ) use a network of wells across the province to track the amount and quality of Ontario’s groundwater.

To help protect local lakes, rivers, streams and groundwater:

• Conservation authorities and municipalities (and Parks Canada on federal waterways like the Rideau Canal) work together to review applications for new lots and development.  Their job is to protect fish habitat, wetlands, shorelines and groundwater and ensure responsible waterfront development, especially in floodplains. If a project might harm fish habitat, approval may be required from the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca) <http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca> .  
• Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment limits what people can release into surface and groundwater.  They also regulate people wanting to take more than 50,000 litres of water a day from a river, lake, stream or groundwater.
• The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (www.omafra.gov.on.ca <http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/> ) manages some farm operations to prevent manure and fertilizer runoff.  
• Other pieces of legislation regulate mining activities, pesticide use, aggregate extraction, septic systems, landfills, fuel storage, sewage treatment plants and stormwater ponds.  

Drinking water:  Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment stringently regulates municipal drinking water by regularly inspecting water treatment plants and requiring a high level of operator training and record keeping.  Conservation Authorities and municipalities are now working with this Ministry to further protect the sources of water (lakes, rivers and groundwater) that supply municipal water treatment facilities.  By August 2012, policies will be developed by local Source Protection Committees to manage activities like fuel and chemical storage and pesticide and fertilizer use close to municipal wells and surface water intake pipes in rivers and lakes.
For rural residents on private wells, Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment does legislate how a new well must be constructed and how an unused one must be sealed.  This is to help prevent chemicals and bacteria on the ground from travelling down wells and polluting groundwater.  Rural property owners are responsible for having their own water tested and ensuring that it is being properly treated if necessary. It is recommended that private well owners have their well water tested two to three times a year, a service offered free of charge by local health units (www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/contact/phu/phuloc_mn.html <http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/contact/phu/phuloc_mn.html> ).

The Public:  Rules alone cannot protect water.  Conservation authorities, municipalities, government ministries, lake associations, farm groups, stewardship councils, community groups, riverkeepers, volunteer organizations and individuals like you, deliver or take part in countless programs each year that help protect water by educating and encouraging.   

• Public education campaigns help make people aware of the value of water and how they can help protect it.
• Land acquisition programs provide people with incentives to donate sensitive lands (wetlands, waterfront) to agencies like conservation authorities and land trusts so ecological features and functions are protected in perpetuity.
• Stewardship incentive programs help people make positive changes on their property that protect water quality – projects like upgrading wells and septic systems, planting trees, naturalizing shorelines and preventing manure, fertilizer and pesticide runoff.     

So Who Should You Call?

Not quite sure who to call about your next personal water-related project?   Easiest and most reliable thing to do is contact the Information Specialists at the LandOwner Resource Centre at 613-692-3571 or 1-800-267-3504 ext 1128 or 1132 who will figure out who you need to talk to about your proposed work.   Keep their number handy.

 Next topic:     What you can do to protect water?

 For more information please contact:              
Sommer Casgrain-Robertson, Co-Project Manager
Mississippi-Rideau Source Protection Region
Tel.:    613-692-3571 or 1-800-267-3504 ext 1147
Email: sommer.robertson@mrsourcewater.ca
www.mrsourcewater.ca