Province announces plan to limit the amount of groundwater that can be taken by bottling companies.

By Pepper Parr

October 17th, 2016

BURLINGTON, ON

It is not often that we see a media release from the provincial government that follows comments made by one of our columnists.

Ray Rivers wrote about the amount of water the Nestle corporation takes out of aquifers in the province.  A couple of minutes after publishing the column we received the following media release.

Ontario Taking Action to Protect Clean Water : Province Proposes Two Year Moratorium on New and Expanded Water Bottling Operations

Ontario is taking action to protect the province’s water resources for future generations by proposing a two-year moratorium on new or expanded water takings from groundwater by bottling companies, as well as stricter rules for renewals of existing permits.

The proposed moratorium is the first of a number of steps the province will be taking to further protect Ontario’s clean water. It will apply to every water bottling facility that takes groundwater and is required to have a permit under the Ontario Water Resources Act. Proposed rules would reduce the duration of permit renewal applications from 10 years to a maximum of five years, as well as require increased public transparency, new operating guidelines, mandatory reductions on water taking during drought and further scientific studies.

As part of Ontario’s ongoing efforts to protect its water resources, the government is also closely examining how pricing and other tools could be used to help manage and protect the province’s water resources, and will provide an update later this fall.

While the proposed moratorium is in place, Ontario also plans to:

• Undertake research to improve understanding of groundwater in Ontario
• Review existing rules for adequate protection of groundwater for future generations
• Receive public input and feedback on Ontario’s current groundwater permitting process and groundwater management moving forward.

In the face of climate change, population growth, increasing water consumption and drought, concerns around water security have risen. Ontario’s ongoing plan to protect groundwater resources is essential to the health and integrity of the province’s ecosystems and communities.

Managing our water resources responsibly is part of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives.

That’s almost what Ray Rivers had to say – wasn’t it?

Ontarians can comment on the proposed two-year moratorium through the Environmental Registry until Dec. 1, 2016.

Link to the |Rivers column.