1. State of Water Information and Management Systems in Ontario
CURA - Sustainable Toronto Project
Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy
State of Water Information and Management Systems in Ontario
June 27, 2001
Dr. Lewis Molot and Daniella Molnar

2. What’s the problem? Groundwater monitoring and reporting in Ontario
Number of reports (i.e. documents and maps) produced by MOE on groundwater, 1969 to 2000

3. Overview
An Optimal Framework for Sustainable Surface and Groundwater Management
State of Groundwater Information in Ontario
Future Initiatives in Groundwater Management by the Ontario Government

4. Sustainable Surface and Groundwater Management
Necessary criteria:
1) Statement of Commitment
2) Information Base
3) Identification of Critical Areas in Need of Protection (Effective Watershed Planning)
4) Quality and Quantity Standards
5) Control of Contaminants
6) Enforcement and Prosecution
7) Public Accessibility to Information
8) Review and Evaluation

5. What is the State of Groundwater Information in Ontario?
MONITORING
No provincial monitoring of groundwater since mid 1980s.
Some regional offices continued to monitor but stopped due to lack of funding
Presently, CAs monitor - Grand and Credit and some municipalities - Waterloo
Provincially, noone knows the state of our groundwater resources

6. What is the State of Groundwater Information in Ontario?
REPORTING
MOE - hydrogeological mapping
groundwater surveys
reports , , 1997
Conservation Authorities (CAs)
water balance - Grand and Credit CAs
watershed studies
Municipalities
Groundwater Management Studies, 2000

7. Future Initiatives - Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network
Joint program with MOE and Conservation Authorities
Purpose: To collect ambient groundwater quality and quantity data.
Approx. 400 observational wells
Parameters and frequency of sampling have not been established yet.

8. Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network - MOU
MOE
design the program
fund capital costs ($6 million) including year 1 lab work
provincial level data analysis and reporting
Conservation Authorities
fund operating costs
communicate details to stakeholders
collect data
local level data analysis - mapping

9. Conclusions
Ontario government needs to adopt a sustainable management strategy for surface and groundwater
Lack of knowledge regarding groundwater resources = MOE’s inability to manage groundwater sustainably
Hopes are on future initiatives by MOE, CAs, and municipalities