Source Water Protection

Since the Walkerton contamination, the Province of Ontario has been strengthening regulations on how water is protected, treated, and distributed. Source protection is the frontline defence prior to entering the City's treatment and distribution system. The goal of source water protection is to reduce the potential for both ground and surface water contamination, improving the water we rely on for drinking and recreational purposes. 

Throughout the multi-barrier approach the following safety net is applied:

By protecting our drinking water sources the amount of water treatment needed to provide safe drinking water to consumers can be minimized.

The City of Orillia identified several potential significant threats to the City's water sources. The assessment reports can be accessed by following the link :

Black Severn River and Severn Sound

The initial assessment provided a basis for investigation and establishment of the City's existing significant threats.

Note: Significant threats to our source water are deemed potential threats, not threats that are imminent or taking place within the City. For more information on the assessment reports please find the following link:

On January 26, 2015, the South Georgian Bay Lake Simcoe Source Water Protection Plan was approved with an effective date of July 1, 2015.  The plan sets policies in which the City and Province must enforce to protect our drinking water.  The plan also identified existing threats within the City that will need to conform to both the Source Protection Plan and the Clean Water Act. This will include developing risk management plans and prohibiting existing or future activities and land uses within the City.

The City has been actively developing resources necessary to implement the source water protection processes. Several changes have been made within the City to reflect the Source Protection Plan. These include:

These processes will help provide continual assessment of existing and future potential threats in order to protect the source water in Orillia. Ultimately this means increased protection of our source waters which will ensure the health and safety of our drinking water consumers and the surrounding environment.

The source protection plan is not anticipated to impact the average property owner within the City of Orillia. However all planning and building applications will be subject to additional screening measures if you're planning to engage in building development or land use application outside the existing parameters of the property. If this is the case, you will be required to complete screening applications and may also have certain measures or restrictions placed on your project. A fee associated with the time City Staff attribute to evaluation and plan development will also be charged to the applicant to recover costs associated with these activities. To find out if you reside in a source protection vulnerable areas please refer to the Source Protection Mapping Section.

Be an ambassador for source protection by being mindful of materials and activities stored or used on your property. Although not all activities have significant impacts to Source Protection, or are significant to drinking water, there are ecologically significant threats that an average property owner can be environmentally aware of.

Get involved! If you suspect an activity or use may be a significant threat to the drinking water source report it to a Risk Management Official or Risk Management Inspector. These staff will discuss the suspected threats with you and if necessary, investigate the activity. Threats may include improperly decommissioned or active wells, chemical or pathogen contaminants.

Aside from the threats discussed within the South Georgian Bay Lake Simcoe Source Protection Plan, there are other ways to reduce your impact on our source water. This includes water conservation and improving efficiency, reducing runoff associated with stormwater, reducing the potential for contamination and cleaning up contaminants before they enter stormwater systems. For more information please refer to the City of Orillia's Water Conservation and Stormwater Pages.

Source Water Protection is a provincial requirement of the Clean Water Act meant to protect our municipal drinking water sources (lakes, rivers and underground) from contamination and overuse. The following pamphlets provide you with more information on the safe management of items that can be a threat to Orillia’s source water:

• Safe Handling and Storage of Liquid Chemicals
• Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (DNAPLs)
• Safe Handling and Storage of Road Salt
• Snow and Ice Management – Commercial Properties
• Establishing, Operating and Maintaining Septic Systems
• Establishing, Operating and Maintaining Waste Disposal Sites
• Removal of Abandoned Fuel Tanks