This free electronic newsletter is to let you know about work that is taking place in your region to protect local municipal sources of drinking water. It is also to provide you with ways you can help to keep local drinking water safe and clean. Locally developed source protection plans have been approved by the Province of Ontario. They took effect in April of 2015. Please contact us with any questions you may have.
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December Newsletter

Best Management Practices Profile of the Month

The winter of 2015-2016 started out with mild weather but snow may be around the corner. Winter is a time to think of how to best manage salt and snow.
Public safety means protecting people on roadways. Public safety also means protecting our drinking water sources.
This month our newsletter features salt and snow as the Best Management Practices Profile of the Month.
Our municipalities and source protection authorities have recently  produced a new fact sheet, about salt and snow, for your information. You are invited to download this fact sheet now. (Medium-sized 300 kb PDF file)
 

Why does road salt pose threat to drinking water?

Road salt helps keep roads, sidewalks, and parking lots clear of snow and ice but it also has the potential to contaminate our municipal sources of drinking water. Sodium and Chloride in salt and other de-icing material may be washed into rivers and lakes or seep into groundwater. That makes it important to use best management practices in the storage and application of road salt to reduce risk to water.
 

What can we do to reduce road salt use?

  • Shovel first. By removing ice and snow by shoveling or other means, you will need less salt.
  • Use salt wisely. A little goes a long way but it needs time to work. And remember that salt doesn’t work when it’s colder than 10 degrees below zero (Celsius).
  • Prevent icy areas. Redirect downspouts away from driveways and parking lots.

For salt ‘apps’ and more information:

Also – watch for the new Smart about Salt Program online training, coming soon (2016).

Storage of snow:

Snow removed from roads and parking lots may be contaminated with salt, oil, grease and heavy metals. Storing large amounts of snow in one area concentrates the contaminants. Once the snow melts, these contaminants may reach groundwater or surface water. This poses a threat to drinking water sources. That’s why it’s important everyone consider how and where you store snow.
 

Salt, Snow, and Planning Policies

Road salt storage, road salt application, and snow storage are some of the 21 activities that pose potential threats to the safety and quality of our municipal drinking water sources. Everyone should have regard for the policies in the local source protection plans and consider how they can help protect our drinking water.
We encourage you to find out more about best management practices for reducing the impacts of snow and salt and other activities. Visit your local website at this link: www.sourcewaterinfo.on.ca 
Thank you for all you do to keep local drinking water sources safe and clean.
All the best of the season to you.
 

Contact us:

If you have any questions please contact us at:
Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Region
c/o 71108 Morrison Line, RR 3 Exeter, ON • N0M 1S5
1–888–286–2610 • info@sourcewaterinfo.on.ca
Maitland Valley Source Protection Area: 519-335-3557
Ausable Bayfield Source Protection Area: 519-235-2610

Find out more online about source protection in your region:
• Source protection plans – Maitland Valley and Ausable Bayfield areas
• Drinking water source protection in Ontario

Source Protection Municipal Implementation Fund (SPMIF) for Small Rural Municipalities

The Province of Ontario provided $13.5 million in funding for municipal implementation. Municipalities and counties in the Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Region received more than $1 million of this funding to implement plans to protect municipal drinking water sources.
Those municipalities that received a one-year extension to their Source Protection Municipal Implementation Fund (SPMIF) for Small Rural Municipalities agreement are providing interim progress reports in December of 2015. A final report is due December 5, 2016. For more complete information for municipal staff, there is an SPMIF frequently asked questions fact sheet or you may contact Jenna Allain, Program Supervisor, or the MOECC source protection branch.
Funds are for eligible municipal activities to implement source protection plans such as establishment of risk management plans; communication with impacted people; and refining information about the number of activities which pose a significant threat to drinking water sources.
Implementing land use policies for significant-threat activities; education and outreach to address significant threats; and some other processes related to source protection readiness and implementation (including vulnerable area sign installation) are also eligible.

Other Activities for Best Management Practices

Road salt application and storage, and snow storage, are some of the activities which pose a threat to drinking water sources if not properly managed. Visit your local source protection region website for fact sheets on how to manage and reduce risk from these and other threat activities, such as:
• Septic systems; On-site sewage
• Fuel oil (including home heating oil)
• Liquid fuel such as gas stations
• Chemicals (toxic chemicals such as organic solvents and dense non-aqueous phase liquids or DNAPLs)
• Commercial fertilizer
• Pesticides
• Nutrients (manure, bio-solids, grazing)
• Waste disposal sites (including storage of hazardous waste)
• Sewage works (sewage treatment plants, municipal sewers)
• Others: For the list of 21 provincially prescribed drinking water threats, visit the Province of Ontario website.

The content provided here is intended for local educational and information purposes only. Every effort has been made to ensure the correctness of information as at the publication date (December 2015). Information is subject to change. For legislation and regulations visit ontario.ca.
This project has received funding from the Province of Ontario. Such funding does not indicate endorsement of the contents of this material.
Copyright © 2015 Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Drinking Water Source Protection Region c/o ABCA, All rights reserved.


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