After the tragic events of 2000 in Walkerton, Ontario took strong action to ensure our drinking water is among the best protected in the world.

Following the Walkerton inquiry, Justice O’Connor made 121 recommendations on a wide range of areas related to protecting drinking water. These recommendations are the building blocks of Ontario’s drinking water protection framework.

The Province of Ontario’s Clean Water Act received Royal Assent on October 19, 2006, and passed into law July 3, 2006 to ensure that everyone in the province has the right to safe, clean drinking water. It ensures that communities are able to protect their supply of Municipal residential drinking water through developing collaborative, locally driven, science-based protection plans.

Links:

• Ontario’s Drinking Water Source Protection Program (https://www.ontario.ca/page/source-protection)
• Clean Water Act (https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/06c22)