Roles & Responsibilities
Drinking Water Source Protection
Drinking Water Source Protection (DWSP) requires the input of all stakeholders in order to create and implement a Source Protection plan that will work in our region. There are many partners and organizations involved in the Drinking Water Source Protection initiative. Here’s a brief summary of who’s who and what they do!
North Bay - Mattawa Source Protection Committee
The local Drinking Water Source Protection Committee will develop Terms of Reference, an Assessment Report outlining threats and risks to the region’s source water, and ultimately a plan to eliminate or reduce those risks. The ten-person committee consists of municipal representatives, landowners and other groups such as industry and agriculture. For more information on the committee, please click here.
Residents and Business Owners of the
North Bay-Mattawa Region
The region's residents and local stakeholders will play a large part in the development of the North Bay-Mattawa Source Protection Plan. Formal participation can include joining a working group, attending public meetings and/or providing feedback during public consultation sessions. Informal participation includes taking care of our watershed through water conservation and best practices. As part of the process to compile the Assessment Report, residents and business owners can be required to permit access to their properties by qualified satff. Residents and business owners will be given advance notice and the staff will provide proper identification at time of access. To learn more about how you can provide input and make a difference, visit Get Involved!
North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority (NBMCA)
With funding from the Province, the NBMCA has integrated a newly formed Drinking Water Source Protection team into its existing programs and services. The four member DWSP Team has been working to gather data to determine and map how much water flows in and out of the watershed and how the characteristics of the region may affect it. The NBMCA is also coordinating technical studies for the City of North Bay and other DWSP municipalities, in addition to creating educational and outreach programs and opportunities to involve stakeholders and the public in the review of the Source Protection plan.
In addition, the North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority is constantly compiling educational resources for non-municipal water (private well & surface water) users in the Near North region, as they are not currently included under the proposed Clean Water Act legislation.
To ensure the highest level of data integrity, the NBMCA DWSP staff has also established a panel of outside experts to review data and findings related to the Water Budget.
Municipalities
Municipalities within our region develop growth strategies and water/sewer infrastructure plans. These plans and local expertise are inputted into the overall data regarding current and future water resources and needs.
Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE)
As the lead agency responsible for the proposed Clean Water Act, the MOE is responsible for drafting legislation and policies, funding Drinking Water Source Protection planning on a local level and approving the DWSP reports and plans submitted by the local Source Protection Committees.
Conservation Ontario
Conservation Ontario (CO) represents Ontario’s 36 Conservation Authorities. Justice O’Connor’s recommendations for Source protection specified that the plans should be developed on a watershed basis. As watershed based organizations with a science based approach, conservation authorities were a natural fit to coordinate research and development of their local Drinking Water Source Protection Plan. CO assists the CAs in coordinating the DWSP initiative across the province to maximize shared resources and knowledge.
Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR)
The MNR shares its knowledge and mapping resources with the Drinking Water Source Protection Team.
