Ont. groundwater needs monitoring

ENVIRONMENTAL WATCHDOG SAYS ONTARIO NEEDS BETTER DATA ON GROUNDWATER SUPPLY

Ontario’s environmental commissioner is urging the Liberal government to get better information about the province’s groundwater as it reviews the permits for bottled water companies.

Premier Kathleen Wynne recently imposed a two-year moratorium on any new or expanded bottled water operations in the province while the government reviews the rules and comes up with a new pricing scheme.

Wynne wants bottled water companies treated differently than the many other sectors with water-taking permits, including mining and construction.

But environmental commissioner Dianne Saxe said the government doesn’t have enough data to know what’s happening with ground water in Ontario.

“We’re making decisions with our eyes closed,” she said. “We don’t have enough information yet we’re allowing millions of litres to be taken every day out of the ground.”

The environmental watchdog warned that climate change will increase the amount of stress placed on water with more frequent and longer droughts, but said the province still allows millions of litres to be taken every day out of the ground.

Environment Minister Glen Murray said the current review will focus only on bottled water companies that draw from wells, but he plans to expand it next year to include others with water taking permits, including golf courses.

“We just passed the Great Lakes Protection Act and we’re doing groundwater, then we’re going to deal with the other water issues after that,” Murray said Thursday.