A1. Water: Municipalities and Conservation Authorities

Legislation

Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002; O. Reg. 170/03, section 11, and 269/03

Applies to

1. Large municipal residential systems.

2. Small municipal residential systems.

3. Large municipal non-residential systems.

4. Small municipal non-residential systems.

5. Non-municipal year-round residential systems.

Prepared by

Owner/operator (usually a municipality, region, or OCWA)

Submitted to/publication requirements

• Submitted to MOECC.
• Usually published online (mandatory for large municipal residential systems serving 10,000 or more people) in PDF form or "given, without charge, to every person who requests a copy."

Due date/ frequency

Annual, for the calendar year, due last day of February each year.

Minimum data requirements

Under O. Reg. 170/03, each report must:

(a)contain a brief description of the drinking water system, including a list of water treatment chemicals used by the system during the period covered by the report;

(b) summarize any reports made to the Ministry under subsection 18 (1) of the Act or section 16-4 of Schedule 16 during the period covered by the report;

(c) summarize the results of tests required under this Regulation, or under an approval, municipal drinking water licence or order, including an OWRA order, during the period covered by the report and, if tests required under this Regulation in respect of a parameter were not required during that period, summarize the most recent results of tests of that parameter;

(d) describe any corrective actions taken under Schedule 17 or 18 during the period covered by the report;

(e) describe any major expenses incurred during the period covered by the report to install, repair or replace required equipment;

(f) in the case of a large municipal residential system or a small municipal residential system, include a statement of where a report prepared under Schedule 22 will be available for inspection under subsection 12 (4); and

(g) in the case of a large municipal residential system, small municipal residential system or non-municipal year-round residential system, specify the number of points sampled during the periods described in subsection 15.1-4 (2) or subsection 15.1-5 (5) of Schedule 15.1 to the Regulation, the number of samples taken, and the number of points where a sample exceeded the prescribed standard for lead during those periods.

Also, each report contains:

• Name of the water system
• 9-digit works number
• Size (large or small) of the system; ("small" means it serves a residential development of fewer than 101 units)
• Owner and operator (region, municipality, service company, Ontario Clean Water Agency)

May also include

Details of the system elements (reservoirs, water towers, etc.), numbers of connections or population served, classification and water takings by well or Drinking Water System

Issues/ drawbacks

• System descriptions and formats differ from municipality to municipality.
• Non-residential and non-municipal systems reports are not posted online.

Other information

• An "Optional Annual Report Template" (form PIBS 4435e01) may be used.
• May be combined with Annual Flow Summary Report.
• Reports may deal with WTPs and distribution systems separately.

Legislation

Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002; O. Reg. 170/03, Schedule 22

Applies to

1. Large municipal residential systems.

2. Small municipal residential systems.

Prepared by

System owner/operator

Submitted to/publication requirements

(a) in the case of a drinking water system owned by a municipality, the members of the municipal council;

(b) in the case of a drinking water system owned by a municipal service board established under section 195 of the Municipal Act, 2001, the members of the municipal service board; or

(c) in the case of a drinking water system owned by a corporation, the board of directors of the corporation.

Not required to be posted online; many municipalities do, but some do not (e.g., Barrie). Available on request, however.

Due date/ frequency

Annual, due on March 31, reporting on the previous calendar year.

Minimum data requirements

• System's approval requirements
• Drinking water works permit
• Municipal drinking water licence
• Any orders applicable to the system that were not met at any time during the period covered by the report; for each requirement that was not met, must specify the duration of the failure and the measures taken to correct the failure
• Summary of the quantities and flow rates of the water supplied during the period covered by the report
• Monthly average and maximum daily flows: for each well or water source,
• Monthly flow total (m³/month)
• Daily flow average (m³/day)
• Daily flow maximum (m³/day)
• Daily flow peak flow rate (l/sec)
• Number of days of water taking
• Comparison of the summary to the rated capacity and flow rates approved in the system's approval, drinking water works permit or municipal drinking water licence, or, if the system is receiving all of its water from another system, to the flow rates specified in the written agreement.

May also include

System classification and population served.

Issues/ drawbacks

• Not required to be posted online.
• Not available for non-municipal and/or non-residential systems.
• No standardized reporting format; some municipalities use charts and graphics; others put information in tables.

Other information

May be incorporated into the Drinking Water Quality Report or published separately.

Legislation

Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002; O. Reg. 453/07

Applies to

Licensed municipal drinking water systems

Prepared by

Owner of the system at the time of application for a new system or renewal of a licence for an existing system.

Submitted to/publication requirements

• Ministry of Municipal Affairs
• Owner must "make the financial plans available to members of the public without charge through publication on the Internet, if the owner maintains a website on the Internet."

Due date/ frequency

Before applying for a licence or renewing a licence.

Applies to a period of "at least six years."

Minimum data requirements

Describes elements of the water system to be added in the six years for which the report applies. Must include details of the proposed or projected financial operations of the drinking water system itemized by:

• total revenues, further itemized by water rates, user charges and other revenues,
• total expenses, further itemized by amortization expenses, interest expenses and other expenses,
• annual surplus or deficit,
• accumulated surplus or deficit.

Issues/ drawbacks

No standardized format.

Other information

Financial plans must be approved by a resolution passed by:

• the council of the municipality, if the owner of the drinking water system is a municipality, or
• the governing body of the owner, if the owner of the drinking water system has a governing body and is not a municipality.

Legislation

n/a

Applies to

Toronto, Peel, York, Durham and 9 conservation authorities in the eastern GGH, and as far north as Georgian Bay. Does not include Waterloo, Wellington, Dufferin, Niagara, Haldimand, or Brant.

Prepared by

York, Peel, Durham, Toronto and the Conservation Authorities Moraine Coalition (YPDT-CAMC). CAMC is made up of TRCA, CVC, NVCA, LSRCA, KRCA, ORCA, LTRCA, GRCA, and CLOCA.

Submitted to/publication requirements

Online, but not public. At present, data and maps are available only to partners. Some data and maps may be made available to non-partners through a subscription.

Due date/ frequency

Ongoing.

Minimum data requirements

Data fields include:

• Geology
• Hydrogeology
• Well name
• Well ID
• Boreholes
• Water quality
• Water levels
• Water tables
• Water budgets
• Water taking permits
• Pumping
• Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network data (water levels and water quality).
• Some surface water systems
• Links to relevant PDF reports

May also include

Very detailed information on groundwater quality, going back up to 70 years, depending on the source of the data. Includes MOECC data, but also goes beyond to include additional information from municipalities and CAs.

Issues/ drawbacks

Not available for the entire GGH, although this may happen in future. Not available to the public, although this too may change.

Other information

Mandate: To provide a multi-agency, collaborative approach to collecting, analyzing, and disseminating water resource data as a basis for effective stewardship of water resources. The YPDT-CAMC Groundwater Management Program is to build, maintain, and provide to partnered agencies the regional geological and hydrogeological context for ongoing groundwater studies and management initiatives within the partnership area.

Legislation

Clean Water Act, 2006; O. Reg. 287/07

Applies to

The legislation applies mostly to municipal residential drinking water systems (although it is possible to include other systems).

Prepared by

Conservation authorities

Submitted to/publication requirements

• MOECC
• Published online at https://www.ontario.ca/page/source-protection, which includes an online interactive map.
• Also available through conservation authority websites.

Due date/ frequency

• All plans for the GGH area were completed by 2016.
• Annual progress reports are required from conservation
• authorities.
• May be amended as needed. Updates to be undertaken according to timelines ordered by the MOECC

Minimum data requirements

Water Budget and Water Quantity Threats Assessment: Identifies sources of stress on municipal drinking water systems. Completed using a tiered approach starting at the subwatershed scale (Tier 1) and finally focusing on an evaluation of a municipal system (Tier 3).

MOECC's Technical Rules (2017) outline the steps required to:

• estimate the quantity of water flowing through a watershed
• describe the significant processes that affect flow
• characterize the general movement of water
• assess the sustainability of drinking water supplies
• MOECC's Technical Rules (2009) outline steps required to:
• estimate the quantity of water flowing through a watershed
• describe the significant processes that affect flow
• characterize the general movement of water
• assess the sustainability of drinking water supplies

May also include

Policies may recommend or require actions to address threats.

Issues/

drawbacks

• Effluent discharge is not taken into account.
• Measures what comes in and what goes out (groundwater and surface water), but does not estimate assimilative capacity of receiving bodies.
• Names aquifers, but does not show capacity.
• Different models and data sources used for each report in each area.

Other information

• Reports may be used by municipalities for planning purposes.
• Source Protection Plans take into account population growth forecasts to 2031.

Legislation

Clean Water Act, 2006; O. Reg. 287/07

Applies to

Conservation authorities, which are part of Source Protection Regions.

Who prepares it

Source Protection Programs Branch on behalf of MOECC. The atlas provides a provincial picture of all vulnerable areas. Mapping shows more than 970 municipal Wellhead Protection Areas (WHPA), 150 municipal drinking water Intake Protection Zones (IPZ), Highly Vulnerable Aquifers (HVA), Significant Groundwater Recharge Areas (SGRA) and related features.

Submitted to/publication requirements

Published online by MOECC: https://www.gisapplication.lrc.gov.on.ca/SourceWaterProtection/Index.html?site=SourceWaterProtection&viewer=SWPViewer&locale=en-US

Due date/ frequency

Intermittent. Updated when a Tier 3 water quality assessment is made or any other change to a vulnerable area is made, following approval of a source protection plan or assessment report amendment/update.

Minimum data requirements

Fields include assessment report information, background mapping, and parcel data, providing a provincial picture of:

• Wellhead Protection Areas
• Surface Water Intake Zones
• Highly Vulnerable Aquifers
• Significant Groundwater Recharge Areas

Issues/ drawbacks

The database and related mapping maintained by MOECC is a complex, derivative spatial file, which contains the spatial output of modelling work done by conservation authorities. It does not contain the underlying information used by conservation authorities and their consultants and is not based on a standardized modelling methodology used by Source Protection Regions.

Legislation

Clean Water Act, 2006

Applies to

All Source Protection Regions and areas

Prepared by

MNRF office in Peterborough using information from the Source Protection Plans of conservation authorities.

Submitted to/publication requirements

Published online at http://waterbudget.ca/waterquantitygeodatabase

Created to assist Source Protection Regions to store, query, and view the water budget results produced for their Technical Assessment Reports.

Due date/ frequency

One time only, 2007-2015.

Minimum data requirements

Data fields for the sub-watershed level include:

• Stress assessment levels (Tiers 1 and 2)
• Surface water budget
• Ground water budget
• Consumptive demand
• Significant ground water recharge areas
• Monthly pumping rates

Issues/ drawbacks

Information was collected between 2007 and 2015 and is not being updated.

Other information

"The Water Quantity Flat File (WQFF) is a simplified, derivative product of the Water Quantity Geodatabase, which contains 280 fields of data derived from the provincial summary results from the Tier 1 and Tier 2 Water Quantity Stress Assessments. These subwatershed assessments of cumulative water supply versus cumulative water demand are required under the Clean Water Act." (From waterbudget.ca database)