Public meetings to be held on source water protection
Tuesday August 19 2008 Dear editor,
Water — it’s the one resource every living thing on our planet depends on to live. With over 300 million trillion gallons of water on earth, it’s all too easy for us to slip into thinking that we have an endless supply of drinking water.  However, the safety of our drinking water sources should never be taken for granted.
To protect our region’s drinking water sources, the Credit Valley Source Protection Area is working with municipal, economic and public interest experts to develop a plan to reduce, manage or eliminate risks to municipal drinking water sources (as well as guarding against future risks). With this work underway, Dufferin County residents can trust they will have clean, safe drinking water sources for generations to come.  
The CTC source protection committee represents municipal, business and public interest groups across the Credit Valley, Toronto and region and central Lake Ontario source protection areas. It’s charged with guiding the four-year planning process for protecting drinking water in the region, which isn’t just a matter of how much water exists but also of protecting the quality of our water supply from contaminants including bacteria, solvents and petroleum products.
 “It’s important that Dufferin County citizens recognize that our drinking water is the most valuable resource available to us and, most importantly, that our everyday actions directly affect the sources we draw this water from,” said Susan Self, chair of the CTC Source Protection Committee. “The time to consider potential threats to our drinking water is now, before a problem occurs.”
Funded by the Province of Ontario, the source protection committee has begun the first step in the planning process with the committee setting out proposed tasks, activities and responsibilities for the preparation of an assessment report and source protection plan. The first step is the draft terms of reference, which are now available at www.ctcswp.ca. Citizens are invited to review the documents and offer comment until Sept. 21.
The committee will also be holding a public meeting 6-9 p.m. at Monora Park, Town of Mono on the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 17 to discuss the planning process and answer any questions.  
To help protect drinking water sources the Ontario government has made funding available for landowners who wish to lessen their impact on municipal wells.  Representatives from the Ontario Drinking Water Stewardship Program will be available to discuss who is eligible for these grants.
If you are interested in learning more about protecting our drinking water supply, please visit www.ctcswp.ca or call 416-661-6600, ext.5752.
Nicholas Schulz,
Communications Consultations Co-ordinator,
CTC source protection committee

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