Matt Uza, Senior Policy Analyst Water Policy Branch Ontario Ministry of the Environment

1. Ontario’s LegislativeFramework for GroundwaterPresentation to CanWell 2004 ConferenceApril 23/04, Kelowna, BC Matt Uza, Senior Policy Analyst Water Policy Branch Ontario Ministry of the Environment

2. Presentation Overview • Ontario Water Resources Act • Wells Regulation • Safe Drinking Water Act • Drinking Water Systems Regulation • Source Water Protection Framework

3. Ontario Water Resources Act (OWRA) • Promulgated in early 1960s • General provisions re powers, offences, appeals, orders, and regulation-making • Water Taking (enables permitting for amounts > 50,000 l/d) • Wells (well permit, contractor license, technician license) • Water and Sewage Works (approval of works)

4. Regulations Under OWRA Wells (Regulation 903) • amended in 2003 • supports Walkerton Inquiry recommendations • improved rules for well construction, abandonment and for licensing/training of contractors and technicians

5. Old 903 Requirements: Did not address non-water wells (e.g. test holes & dewatering wells) Did not address sand point wells constructed by homeowners Did not address municipal and high production wells Amended 903 Requirements: Covers all wells included in OWRA definition of “well” Clarification of rules and exemptions for test holes & dewatering wells Allows certain test holes and de-watering wells less than 3m deep to be “shallow works” and exempt from most requirements Clear requirements for jetted and driven (i.e. sand point) wells Some new standards for high yield wells and double wall casing Types of Wells Addressed

6. Old 903 Requirements: Training course not required for well technician license Applicants for well technician license must have 6 months experience AND 24 months work experience or education No continuing education require-ments for license renewal Well contractor insurance requirements: minimum $200k total liability per incident Amended 903 Requirements: Well technician license applicants must take MOE-approved training course of at least 30 hrs AND 4,000 hrs relevant work experience 21 hrs of continuing education over 3 years required for license renewal Insurance requirements increased to reflect current claims: minimum $5,000,000 total liability per incident Updated Training & Licensing

7. Old 903 Requirements: The person constructing a well must record general information about the well on a form supplied by MOE Location of well recorded on only general terms, eg lot and concession, sketch No tag or other identifying markings on wells Amended 903 Requirements: Person constructing or abandoning a well must provide an accurate description of the well, including: exact geographic co-ordinates from GPS unit prepare a log of the geological materials using simplified standard materials list Placement of well tags to improve tracking, compliance, monitoring Improved Reporting & Tracking

8. Old 903 Requirement: No information provided to owner concerning their responsibilities for well stewardship Amended 903 Requirement: Contractor must provide owner with MOE-approved Well Owner Information Package New Outreach to Well Owners

9. Old 903 Requirements: Secure well cap preventing entry of surface water or foreign materials. Construction of higher risk shallow dug wells using non-water tight cement tiles not prohibited. Permissible sealants for space surrounding casing subject to shrinking & cracking (e.g. non-commercial clay slurry). Only ½ metre of sealant, 2.5 cm thick around casing. Amended 903 Requirements: Well cap also “commercially manufactured and vermin-proof” Allows new casing material to be used (fibreglass). All casing must be continuous and water-tight. Sealants must expand to create a permanent watertight seal. A minimum of 6 metres of sealant, 3.8 cm thick around casing. Updated Construction Standards

10. Old 903 Requirements: Well pits permitted, creating potential for contaminated surface water ponding over wellhead. Chlorine dose for well disinfection set at a minimum of 250 mg/l. Amended 903 Requirements: Well pits not allowed Chlorine dose for well disinfection set at new standard of 50 mg/l over 12 hours in line with scientific study. Updated Construction Standards (cont.’d)

11. Old 903 Requirements: Wells may be plugged with any “suitable” material No methodology provided Amended 903 Requirements: Requirements for 3 different diameters of well Special requirements for flowing wells Clear methodology prescribed More stringent requirements for plugging materials Well Abandonment

12. How is Ontario Supporting Implementation of the Amended Wells Regulation? • Well Technician Training Program (Sir Sandford Fleming College) • Well Owner Outreach (Well Aware Campaign) • Well Tagging System (WHI) • Wells Research Partnership (CRESTech) • Discover 903 Information Workshops (OGWA) • New Ministry Publications on Wells

13. New Ministry Well Publications • ‘Well Aware’ Video and Booklet • Well Tag Booklet • New Fact Sheets (reflect amendments) • Medical Officer of Health Well Information Kit • Laypersons Guide to Regulation 903 (pending)

14. Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) • Walkerton Outbreak (May 2000) • Interim Drinking Water Regulations under OWRA • Part 2 Report of Walkerton Inquiry (May 2002) • Recommendation 67: “The provincial government should enact a Safe Drinking Water Act to deal with matters related to the treatment and distribution of drinking water”. • SDWA received royal assent in December, 2002

15. Regulations Under SDWA • Drinking Water Systems (Reg. 170/03) • Ontario Drinking Water Quality Standards (Reg. 169/03) • enforceable health-based standards • Drinking Water Testing Services (Reg. 248/03) • licensing of drinking water laboratories • Schools, Private Schools and Day Nurseries (Reg. 173/03) • flushing of plumbing to protect children • Other “administrative” regulations

16. Regulation 170/03 - Overview • System Categories • GUDI • Treatment • Approval/Certification of Systems • Operational Checks • Microbiological Testing • Chemical Testing • Adverse Conditions • Corrective Actions • Record Keeping/Retention • Public Access to Information • Reporting

17. Categories of Drinking-Water Systems • Municipal • large residential (>100 private residences) • small residential (6 to 100 private residences) • large non-residential (e.g. airport, industrial park) • small non-residential (e.g. community centre) • Non-Municipal • year-round residential (e.g. subdivision, mobile home pk) • seasonal residential (e.g. trailer park, cottage system) • large non-residential (e.g. industry, large school/hospital) • small non-residential (e.g. restaurant, motel, school) individual homes (<6) and small workplaces not regulated

18. Treatment - Equipment • Groundwater • primary disinfection capable of 99 percent removal/ inactivation (R/I) of viruses. • Surface Water • chemically-assisted filtration and primary disinfection (or equivalent) capable of 99, 99.9, 99.99 percent R/I of crypto, giardia, viruses respectively. • Distribution System • chlorination or chloramination capable of achieving chlorine residuals of 0.2 mg/l (free) or 1.0 mg/l (combined) throughout the system, as case may be. • All equipment to be designed/certified in accordance with “Procedure for Disinfection of Drinking Water in Ontario”

19. Groundwater Under Direct Influence Of Surface Water (GUDI) • A GUDI system is deemed to be a surface water system for purposes of the regulation. • The regulation deems certain types of systems to be GUDI based on well characteristics, type of aquifer, distance from surface water etc. • A deemed GUDI system can be “undeemed” if valid reasons are presented a report written by a professional engineer or hydrogeologist (for municipal residential systems which require approval, Ministry must agree) • Above report must be retained by owner for 15 years

20. Deemed GUDI Systems 1) Systems that obtain water from a well: • that is not a drilled well; • that does not have a watertight casing extending to a depth of 6 m; • for a system not capable of 0.58 l/s (50,000 l/d): • is within 15 m of surface water • for a system capable of at least 0.58 l/s (50,000 l/d): • within 100 m of surface water (overburden) • within 500 m of surface water (bedrock) 2) Systems that obtain water from an infiltration gallery 3) Systems showing evidence of surface contamination 4) Systems with report concluding that raw water is GUDI

21. Application for Relief from Treatment • Only available for groundwater-based systems • Accomplished through a condition in a Ministry approval • System owner must conduct public consultation and document proceedings • Municipal residential systems require an assessment by a Professional Hydrogeologist andCouncil resolution • Systems other than municipal residential require an assessment by a Professional Engineer (P. Eng.) • Ministry must agree with assessment before approving • System owner must re-apply for relief every five years

22. Content of Hydrogeologist’s Assessment • Assessment of well(s), relevant aquifers, well head protection, and existing/anticipated land uses; • Results of previous 24 months of all regulatory testing; • Summary of any health issues/concerns related to the system that were identified by local Medical Officer of Health (MOH); • Written statement confirming consultation with local MOH and request for info from MOH related to the system.

23. Content of Engineer’s Assessment • Raw Water Characterization • results of prescribed 24 month raw water microbiological testing program; • results of all other microbiological testing done in previous 24 months; • results of any tests showing past evidence in raw water of viruses, chlorophyll a, protozoa, macro-organisms • written statement confirming no significant or rapid shifts in pH, turbidity, temperature, conductivity, NO3/NO2 for raw water • Assessment of microbiological risk wrt well construction, well head protection, distribution system (DS), any connections from DS to plumbing;

24. Content of Engineer’s Assessment (cont.’d) • System operation/maintenance plan related to managing microbiological risk; • Summary of health issues/concerns related to the system that were identified by local MOH • Written statement confirming consultation with local MOH and request for info from MOH related to the system

25. Source Water Protection Framework What is Driving This? • Part 2 Report of Walkerton Inquiry made 22 recommendations relating to source water protection. • SDWA regulates 4 of the 5 components of a multi-barrier approach to drinking water protection (treatment, distribution, monitoring, response) • Source water protection is the fifth component. • Recognition that supply is not unlimited (climate change, growth in southern Ontario) • Recognition that water is undervalued (charges levied on timber or minerals on Crown land)

26. Source Water Protection Framework White Paper Consultation on source water protection held for public and stakeholders across Ontario in March, 2004 to consult on: • proposed legislative approach • enhanced management of water taking • chargingfor water

27. Proposed Source Protection Legislation • Key components of legislation may include: • watershed-based source protection plans (terms of reference, public/stakeholder input, responsibility and oversight, approval of plans, appeals); • establishment of/amendments to watershed boundaries; • organization of watersheds into “watershed regions” to gain efficiencies; • governance (e.g. establishment of necessary local boards and committees).

28. Management of Water Takings • Potential Direction: • enhanced notification by permit applicant to potentially affected parties and the public; • commit to improving the science behind the assessment of proposed water takings; • monitoring and reporting of water use; • better guidance for permit applicants.

29. Water Taking Charges • Ontario committed to charging for commercial use • Issues: • trade implications? • charge variability by volume thresholds, type of source, consumptive uses, geographic location? • exempted uses (e.g. fire protection, drinking, livestock)? • frequency of payment?

30. More Information? • Ontario Ministry of the Environment Website • www.ene.gov.on.ca • Ontario Statutes and Regulations Website • www.e-laws.gov.on.ca