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City of Orillia drinking water now has an additional layer of protection through the South Georgian Bay Lake Simcoe Source Protection Plan (Source Protection Plan), which came into effect on July 1, 2015.
The Source Protection Plan is a prescribed instrument used by the City to ensure existing and future activities within Orillia cease to be, or do not become, significant threats to our sources of drinking water.
“Environmental stewardship is top-of-mind at the City of Orillia,” said Mayor Steve Clarke. “By making sure activities within the City do not impact the quantity or quality of our drinking water sources, we can continue to provide safe, sustainable drinking water today and for our future generations.”
In 2000, the Town of Walkerton was exposed to contaminated water with tragic results. In response, the Government of Ontario has been implementing acts and regulations that aim to prevent future tragedies from happening. The Safe Drink Water Act, 2002, sets out the requirements for the treatment and distribution of water. In 2006, The Clean Water Act was created to protect sources of water supply within Ontario. Through this Act, Source Protection Plans have been created regionally to provide a local, science-driven approach to protect water sources.
“Orillia’s development and implementation of the plan has been conducted over several years. We’ve been certifying existing key staff through the Ministry of the Environment’s Source Protection Training Course, evaluated existing activities within the City, developed a comprehensive screening process to evaluate future activities, and are continually looking at ways to improve our environmental impacts within and around the City,” said Kyle Mitchell, Manager of Water Resources, Risk Management Official for the City of Orillia.
A pre-screening application form has been developed to ensure future activities do not become a potential significant threat to the City’s drinking water sources. The pre-screening form is now required for all building permits and planning applications. Once completed by an applicant, the form will be reviewed by City staff appointed as Risk Management Officials, who will then provide guidance for applicants and manage source protection threats and initiatives. These forms are available at orillia.ca and at the Development Services counter at the Orillia City Centre.
More information on the City’s Source Protection Plan is available at http://www.orillia.ca/en/livinginorillia/Source-Water-Protection-.asp and at http://ourwatershed.ca/.
The City of Orillia is a city of 31,000 people in the heart of Ontario’s Lake Country on the shores of Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Visit our website at orillia.ca.
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Kyle Mitchell
Manager of Water Resources
City of Orillia
705-325-3224
kmitchell@orillia.ca
Jennifer Ruff
Manager of Communications
705-325-8929
705-238-9209 (cell)
jruff@orillia.ca
