All policies established to protect the sources of municipal drinking water in North Bay, Mattawa, Powassan, Callander, and South River are now in place and being implemented according to the North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority’s Source Protection Plan Annual Report.
“The report provides an update on the status of policies and explains some challenges and findings that arose through the process of implementation,” said Sue Miller, Manager of the Drinking Water Source Protection Program.
A policy review is now underway, with changes anticipated for the Callander and North Bay sections of the Source Protection Plan.
Public meetings will be held as part of the review.
“With respect to algae blooms in Callander Bay, we now have more than 10 years of research and experience working with landowners to increase our understanding of the problem. We have information to share with the community,” said Miller.
A public meeting scheduled for June 6, 7 pm at the Callander Legion at 345 Lansdowne Street, will give the community an opportunity hear what has been learned, what still needs to be researched, and how new knowledge may change the approach to dealing with the algae problem. The meeting will also provide a valuable opportunity to gain input and feedback from residents in the Callander-Wasi watershed.
For the North Bay system, the vulnerability of the intake was scored too low originally and will likely need to be increased. This potentially means that additional activities will be identified as threats which will need to be managed.
“During implementation, we discovered that the portion of the Trout Lake watershed vulnerable to contamination is somewhat larger than first thought ,” says Miller, A public consultation scheduled for June 14 at 7 pm at the NBMCA office at 15 Janey Avenue will address this and other issues.
The Source Protection Plan is a set of policies aimed at identifying and mitigating threats to the sources of the five municipal drinking water sources in the source protection area. The 2017 Source Protection Annual Report covers progress between when the SP Plan came into effect on July 1, 2015, and December 31, 2017. Both the Source Protection Plan and the Annual Report can be viewed at www.actforcleanwater.ca
