Best wishes this holiday season; drinking water source protection news
This email is to offer you updates about drinking water source protection in Maitland Valley and Ausable Bayfield areas. Thanks for having subscribed to this email newsletter. You are welcome to unsubscribe at any time.
Source Protection Committee seeks public input on drinking water source protection plan updates
Our local committee, working to protect municipal drinking water sources, is proposing updates to source protection plans for the Ausable Bayfield and Maitland Valley areas.
The plans have been prepared under the Ontario Clean Water Act, 2006, to protect municipal sources of drinking water and to ensure their sustainable use into the future.
The Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Committee (SPC) invites the public to review and comment on the proposed updates to these plans.
Please submit your written comments by February 10, 2023 to mmacdonald@abca.ca
The local committee developed the source protection plans and the Province of Ontario approved them in 2015.The plans need to be updated because of recent changes.
The wellhead protection area for Belgrave is updated to reflect a new water well. There are also minor changes to wellhead protection areas for Wingham, Palmerston, and Auburn. Policies in the plans are revised to reflect new provincial technical rules and to improve implementation. Key policy changes address road salt, fuel storage, and snow storage.
The proposed changes may affect properties close to municipal wells. If you live or work in these vulnerable areas, plan policies may affect how and where certain activities, which could impact drinking water sources, can occur.
Matt Pearson, Chair of the SPC, says people are invited to attend open houses, or a webinar, to learn more and to ask questions.
“Locally developed plans have helped to protect municipal drinking water sources since 2015,” he said. “It is now time to revise the plans to keep them current. We want the public to know about proposed changes to policies and we would like to hear people’s questions and comments.”
The public consultation continues until February 10, 2023. To review the proposed updates to source protection plans, visit:
You are invited to find out more at the following public events:
Webinar: Wednesday, January 11, 2023 from noon to 1:30 p.m. Please pre-register by email to mmacdonald@abca.ca
Wingham open house: Wednesday, January 18, 2023, 4:30-7 p.m., Hot Stove Lounge, North Huron Wescast Community Complex, 99 Kerr Drive
Clinton open house: Wednesday, January 25, 2023, 4:30-7 p.m., Board Room, Central Huron Community Centre Complex, 239 Bill Fleming Drive
For more information or to review a paper copy of the documents please call source protection staff at 519-235-2610, or toll-free 1-888-286-2610, extension 247.
Drinking water source protection program launches public education campaign on local and social media about snow storage and salt storage and application
The Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Region, in partnership with Conservation Ontario, is sharing a public information campaign on local and social media called ‘Salt Responsibly.’
This educational campaign began in November and continues each Wednesday until March with the hashtag identifiers #WinterWednesday and #WaterWednesday
The posts are on Ausable Bayfield and Maitland Valley social media platforms.
Here is an example of a post and some examples of photos used in the campaign:
Snow removed from roads and parking lots may be contaminated with salt, oil, and heavy metals. Once snow melts, these contaminants may reach groundwater or surface water. Local source protection plans help manage the risk posed to drinking water sources. To learn more visit:
Source Protection Committee honours retiring committee members
The Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Drinking Water Source Protection Committee honoured two retiring members, at its November 30 meeting, for their years of dedicated service to protect local sources of municipal drinking water.
In this photo, Matt Pearson, SPC Chair (centre), thanks Ian Brebner (left) and Myles Murdock (right).
Ian served on the committee since it was first formed in 2007, first as a representative of the region’s southern municipalities and later as a property owner representative. Ian worked with other original SPC members meeting monthly for day-long sessions to review technical material and to negotiate policies that formed the first source protection plans in the region which took legal effect in 2015.
Myles joined the SPC in 2015 as a North municipal representative having earlier participated in regional source protection working groups which started in 2008. The SPC develops and updates local source protection plans to protect municipal drinking water sources from contamination and overuse.
Notice – Call for Applications
Position available on local Source Protection Committee
The Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Drinking Water Source Protection Committee is reducing risk to local municipal drinking water sources. It is doing this through implementation of locally developed, provincially approved source protection plans.
Ausable Bayfield Source Protection Authority, on behalf of Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Region, is seeking applications for one vacancy on the committee.
The vacancy is for a representative from the following interests:
Property owner (1)
It is anticipated there will be up to four half-day meetings per year.
There is remuneration for time and travel.
For summary of member obligations and full job description please visit:
For requirements under Ontario Regulation 288/07 (Source Protection Committees) please visit ontario.ca
To learn more call Mary Lynn MacDonald, Program Co-Supervisor,
at 519-235-2610 or toll-free 1-888-286-2610, extension 247, or email mmacdonald@abca.ca
Submit cover letter, attached to résumé, by Monday, January 2, 2023 to:
Brian Horner,
General Manager and Secretary-Treasurer, Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority, 71108 Morrison Line,
RR 3 Exeter, ON
N0M 1S5
Made possible with funding support from the Province of Ontario.
Best wishes for the season from the Source Protection Committee
The Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Committee would like to wish you and your loved ones all the best of the holiday season and a happy, healthy, clean-water New Year!
Source protection committee members in photo are, front row, left to right: Bert Dykstra (Agriculture); Ian Brebner (a founding SPC member who has retired in 2022); Matt Pearson (SPC Chair); Mary Ellen Foran (Agriculture); Jennette Walker (Environment); and (back row) Philip Keightley (Commercial); Alyssa Keller (Public-at-Large); Rowland Howe (Industry); Paul Heffer (Municipal – Central Group); and Dave Frayne (Municipal – South-West Group). Not in photo (but also wishing you the best of the season!) are: Allan Rothwell (Municipal – East Group); Myles Murdock (Municipal – North Group; retiring from committee in 2022); and John Graham (Environment).
