NEWS RELEASE
SAVE OUR WATER.CA
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ELORA, TOWNSHIP OF CENTRE WELLINGTON - The Ontario government’s proposal to impose a two-year moratorium on new or expanded water takings from groundwater by bottling companies is good news for Ontario, and for Centre Wellington.
"The moratorium will provide much needed time for research, consultation and for municipalities and regions to catch up to the new water reality and the effects of climate change on ground water supplies in local planning,” says Jan Beveridge, of SaveOurWater.CA.
"Thanks to the residents of Centre Wellington and beyond, for joining together to safeguard our water. Look what we did! So many people wrote letters, joined protests, made a noise and invested in the research we needed to show the province that this kind of decision should not be rushed.”
“The moratorium is what we asked for," says Beveridge, but she’s quick to note, “this story isn’t over.” Most immediately, SaveOurWater.CA is asking residents register their support for the moratorium at www.ebr.gov.on.ca
As announced on Oct. 17, the proposed two-year moratorium will apply to every water bottling facility that takes groundwater and is required to have a permit under the Ontario Water Resources Act, including Nestle Waters’ Canada proposed water-taking at the Middlebrook site.
At this stage, the moratorium is just a proposal, reminds Elizabeth Carlaw. “We need to support the proposal, and an official stance from our council is an important part of that. That is why the unanimous vote by Mayor and Council for Councillor Kirk McElwain’s resolution on Oct. 31 was so important.”
The moratorium proposal on the EBR was posted by the Government on Oct. 15. The Government of Ontario has taken thoughtful steps to update the Permit To Take Water System and while doing so allow the time needed for local and regional governments to catch up to the new reality of water in our province. This is the biggest change in water policy since Walkerton.
Please show your support of the proposed changes and the moratorium by making your own comments on the Environmental Bill of Rights Registry. The deadline for comment will be Dec. 1, 2016.
You can find help for posting your comments on our Facebook page, and on our website. We are also offering in person help at The Fountainhead in Fergus and Ashanti in Elora later in November. Another one of our original goals in this process has been checked off!
It has been a very busy few weeks and we could not have accomplished this without the support of you, our water allies, all of our supporters across Ontario, Canada, and internationally.
We are a small local example of water taking that has implications for our local aquifer, private wells, municipal water, watershed management, provincial water taking policy, Places To Grow, county growth planning, and federal resource mapping and international trade policy under NAFTA, TPP and CETA.
We are ground zero where a multinational corporation is taking advantage of local, provincial and federal inaction and laws and regulations and policies that have not kept up with the global reality of climate change and possible water scarcity locally and internationally.
That is why protecting this water source is so important. We are where policy, regulation, law, and fundamental environmental values collide at all levels of government, business, community, indigenous peoples, plants, animals, land and water.
What happens here will help define what happens in the future for Ontario and possibly Canada. We are not alone. Look at Hope, BC, Cascade Locks, Oregon, Fryberg, Maine, California, Arizona, Atlanta, Pakistan, New Zealand, and, in fact, all over the world.
The Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) is inviting comments on the proposal until Dec.1. “It’s up to us to tell the MOECC that we want this moratorium. I will also be telling the MOECC that charging higher fees is not the only answer,” says Ailsa Fullwood.
Mervin Martin, a local farmer who uses the water conserving drip method to water his vegetable crops, says, "It doesn't matter how much Nestle pays for the water, once it's gone, it's gone."
Meantime, Save Our Water urges residents to get informed, and register support for the moratorium to the Ministry of the Environment:
Online at www.ebr.gov.on.ca enter Registry Number 012-8783, under ‘notices’ click on the registry number, then on the right-hand side click on ‘Submit Comment’
By email to [email protected]. Please include registry number 012-8783
By letter: Please include registry number 012-8783:
Leo Luong, Manager, Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change
Environmental Policy Division, Land and Water Policy Branch
135 St. Clair Ave. W., Floor 6
Toronto, ON M4V 1P5
About SaveOurWater.CA
Save Our Water formed in April 2015 and is a growing movement of residents committed to the protection and preservation of the Grand River watershed. They work closely with water allies to safeguard the groundwater that our communities, our wetlands and our river ecosystems rely on.
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