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Background - Source Water Protection
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The Lakehead Region Conservation Authority is a community-based environmental agency. We are responsible for the wise management of renewable natural resources in our watershed. Conservation Authorities undertake a broad range of programs, including: flood control; floodplain management; wetland protection; erosion control; reforestation; conservation lands; and conservation education. History: Formed in 1963 by an expansion of the Neebing Valley Conservation Authority, which was constituted in 1954. Area of Jurisdiction: Boundaries correspond to those of its eight participating municipalities; encompasses an area of 2600 sq. km and extends along 200 km of Lake Superior shoreline. Map Founding Principles: Conservation Authorities are based on three fundamental principles:
Objectives:
Services: Our integrated approach to resource management leads to a wide range of programs and projects, which are aimed at keeping our watersheds healthy. We improve quality of life by actively providing open space and protecting life and property from flooding and erosion, as well as restoring and conserving aquatic and natural habitats. In addition to serving our watershed residents, we also provide advice and counsel to all levels of government on the responsible management of water. Conservation Authorities: There are 36 Conservation Authorities across Ontario, including five in Northern Ontario. Water: Water is essential to human health, important in economic development and vital to all living things. Water links all components of the environment and is a major force in shaping the landscape. We operate on a watershed basis because it treats natural systems as an entire unit. Source Water Protection: Maintaining a safe, sustainable water supply is essential to all human and natural activities. The first step involved in maintaining our water supply is protecting it at its source. Source Water is untreated water from streams, lakes, rivers or underground aquifers often used to supply private wells and public drinking water systems. Source water comes from one of two sources: surface water or groundwater. Surface water is open to the atmosphere and includes lakes, rivers, streams, creeks and oceans. Ground water is water found beneath the Earth’s surface between the cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock. Because it can be very costly and extremely difficult to clean a polluted water source, it is very important to ensure our water sources are protected. Protecting our source water will also help to ensure that there will be enough safe water for all of our uses, now and in the future. The Ontario Government, in response to the Walkerton Report, has developed the Clean Water Act. With their history of watershed planning, Conservation Authorities have been selected to work with a Source Water Protection Planning Committee to assist in the development of a Source Water Protection Plan in their watershed regions. The Source Water Protection Planning Committee will have representatives from a variety of sectors. The Committee will oversee the process of gathering information about the watershed, assessing threats and assembling this information into a comprehensive Source Water Protection Plan. It is expected to take at least 3 years to develop the plan, which will go to the Provincial Government for final approval. Once approved, recommendations in the plan can then be implemented.
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Mandate: Conservation Authorities, created in 1946 by an Act of the Provincial Legislature, are mandated to ensure the conservation, restoration and responsible management of Ontario's water, land and natural habitats through programs that balance human, environmental and economic needs.
