WELLINGTON COUNTY – Water users throughout the Grand River watershed are being asked to cut their consumption by 10 per cent, due to dry conditions as a result of low precipitation and high air temperatures this summer.
The Grand River Low Water Response Team held a virtual meeting on Aug. 21.
The team is made up of representatives of major water users including municipalities, farmers, golf course operators, aggregate businesses and others.
The Low Water Response Team decided to place the entire watershed at Level 1 under the Ontario Low Water Response Program.
Level 1 results in a request for a voluntary 10% reduction in water consumption by all water users, including municipalities, aggregate operations, golf courses, water bottlers, farms for irrigation and private users.
For watershed residents, the best immediate action is to follow their municipal outdoor water use bylaws, which limit watering to specific days and times.
This augmentation helps municipalities that get some, or all, of their drinking water from the Grand River, including the Region of Waterloo and the City of Brantford.
Six Nations of the Grand River also gets some of its drinking water from the Grand River.
Water from these reservoirs also supports the proper operation of 16 wastewater treatment plants that discharge into the Grand, Speed and Conestogo rivers. The conditions of the reservoirs are being closely monitored, officials say.
