Ontario
has approved a plan to protect sources of drinking water in the Long
Point-area watersheds on the north shore of Lake Erie. The source
protection plan, developed by local municipal and community partners,
will take effect July 1, 2016. This approved plan will help the area to:
Create management plans to help communities reduce the risks associated
with certain waste disposal sites, manure, livestock, road salt,
solvents, pesticides, fuel and commercial fertilizers; Implement
education and outreach programs that promote best management practices
for the risks associated with manure and biosolids, fertilizers,
pesticides, livestock, waste, sewage systems, and solvents; Monitor the
implementation and effectiveness of targets and goals outlined in the
plan. Ontario has now approved 21 of 22 source water protection plans
from areas across the province, and expects to approve the last plan by
the end of the year. Together, the plans will cover areas where 95% of
the province's population live.
The Long Point source protection
area contains 10 main watercourses (streams and rivers), which drain
directly into Lake Erie. The region has 15 municipal residential
drinking water systems, which service 52% of the area’s 110,000
residents. The remaining population receives its drinking water from
non-municipal systems, such as private wells or intakes, communal
systems and cisterns that supply public and private facilities, such as
schools, community centres and trailer parks.