Tier 2 Water Budgets

AquaResource is currently working with the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) and Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) to complete Tier 2 Water Budgets for their watersheds.  These projects are being completed to meet the requirements of the Province of Ontario's Source Water Protection activities under the Clean Water Act.

The ultimate objective of the Province's water budget framework is to help ensure the availability and sustainability of drinking water supplies.  The Tier 2 water budget projects include the development of advanced groundwater and surface water hydrology models, and the application of these models to evaluate drinking water supplies under current and future conditions.

The Clean Water Act received Royal Assent on October 19, 2006. It ensures communities are able to protect their municipal drinking water supplies through developing collaborative, locally driven, science-based protection plans. Communities will identify potential risks to local water sources and take action to reduce or eliminate these risks.  The Act requires that a water budget for each of Ontario's watersheds that; (i) identifies the different ways that water enters and leaves the watershed and quantifies the amount of water that enters or leaves in each way,  (ii) describes the groundwater and surface water flows in the watershed, (iii) quantifies the existing and anticipated amounts of water taken from the watershed, and (iv) describes any existing or anticipated water shortages in the watershed.

Feel free to contact AquaResource for more information on the Clean Water Act, and how it may affect your organization.