The Lake Erie Source Protection Region released the results of the Guelph and Guelph-Eramosa Tier 3 Water Budget and Local Area Risk Assessment study at the Lake Erie Region Source Protection Committee meeting earlier this month.
The Tier 3 study began in 2008, and the county and townships’ participation began in 2014 after the Grand River Conservation Authority and the City of Guelph identified to the county that the Wellhead Protection Area, with respect to quantity (WHPA-Q), would likely extend past the City of Guelph boundaries.
The Townships of Puslinch and Guelph-Eramosa and the Town of Erin all have considerable area and employment land contained within the WHPA-Q.
“This has been and continues to be a concern for the county and the affected member municipalities,” states an April 6 press release from the County of Wellington.
“Due to the county and member municipalities later involvement, we did not participate on the project team, we acted as municipal peer reviewers on the Water Quantity Risk Assessment,” said Warden Dennis Lever.
“We are optimistic about the next phase of the Tier 3 project as we look forward to participating fully on the project team for the Risk Management Measures Evaluation Project and policy development.”
Lever added, “However, the county and its affected member municipalities have ongoing concerns due to the significant size of the provincially approved wellhead protection areas.
“We ask that the Government of Ontario and the Lake Erie Source Protection Region continue to work with our municipalities to address these concerns during the next phase of the project.”
