Our local committee, working to protect drinking water sources, has released a second video in a planned series.

The Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Committee (SPC) released the new video, in January 2021, about how Goderich marine industries help to protect the Great Lakes drinking water source in Goderich. 

“We are pleased to release the second in this video series created to engage economic sectors and local residents,” said Matt Pearson, SPC Chair. The members of the source protection committee are using videos as one way to reach the people they represent and inform the public, according to the committee’s Chair. They help to show some of the ways people and businesses are protecting their local drinking water sources. 

The new video shares ways industry members of the Goderich Port Management Corporation prevent contaminants from reaching Lake Huron in order to protect drinking water sources, tourism and recreation, and the local marine economy.

The lake drinking water intake is the only source of raw water for the Goderich water treatment plant. An intake protection zone (IPZ) shows where, within two hours, the water is entering the intake pipe located 500 metres offshore. In Goderich, this IPZ includes the harbour. 

Rowland Howe is an industry representative on the source protection committee and he is President of Goderich Port Management Corporation. In the new video he shares some ways these marine industries prevent impacts on water in the intake protection zone. This includes spills prevention plans and Green Marine certification, an environmental certification program for the North American marine industry.

“The town and the port and all the users of the port are working hard to maintain the quality of the water, the drinking water, the recreation, and the aquatic environment in general,” said Rowland in the video.

The video also describes the environmental assessment process which took place for the Goderich harbour expansion. New wharfage and an expanded loading area were created and drinking water source protection was considered to ensure there were no negative impacts to drinking water sources during or after the work. 

The first video in this series was about water treatment and featured a virtual tour of the Seaforth water treatment facility and water tower. It was released in October 2020.

Links to the new video, and the previous video, are on the local drinking water source protection website at sourcewaterinfo.on.ca and the Ausable Bayfield Conservation YouTube channel.

Here are the links to the videos and the channel:

The committee invites you to stay tuned for more videos the committee plans to release, featuring their members on other drinking water source protection topics, in the coming months.

To learn more ways your business can protect drinking water sources read this best management practices fact sheet: