Source Water Protection

Protecting Norfolk's drinking water sources safeguards our residents’ health and ensures enough water for all.

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Norfolk's Water Sources

  • Port Dover, Port Rowan and St. William's source their water from Lake Erie
  • Waterford and Simcoe are supplied by groundwater
  •  Delhi and Courtland's system uses a combination of groundwater and surface water from Big Creek

Each surface water intake has an Intake Protection Zone (IPZ) that prohibits activities that could contaminate the drinking water source. Similarly, each wellhead has a Well Head Protection Area (WHPA) that ensures the groundwater surrounding each well remains contaminant-free.

Read more about the water treatment process at each facility. 

Drinking Water Protection Zone signs

Drinking Water Protection Zone signs across Ontario help to raise awareness and protect our health by marking areas where pollution could harm drinking water sources.

Drinking Water Protection Zone sign

You’ll see them in zones where water sources are vulnerable.

Drinking water threats

Different activities can threaten the quality of our water and the amount available. Drinking water threats fall within four major categories:

  1. Natural and chemical contaminants
  2. Irresponsible land use activities which contaminate our water or take too much out
  3. Urban development can make it difficult for water to filter into the ground to replenish groundwater sources. When this happens, water flows across the surface of the land rather than down to groundwater sources
  4. Air pollution that falls directly on surface waters or enters water sources through surface runoff

As a result of climate change, there is also concern that the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere will reduce the amount of water available in lakes, rivers and streams due to reduced precipitation and increased evaporation.

Read more about drinking water threats from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC).

Help protect our water sources

Farming activities can adversely affect groundwater and surface water resources that may be a source of drinking water, and farmers play a key role in water management in their operations.

Visit the Ontario government's website to learn more about source water protection plans on the farm. 

On-site sewage systems (septic tanks) are a potential threat to drinking water. The Ontario Building Code requires inspection programs to identify systems not being maintained properly and pose a public health threat.

All properties with on-site sewage systems located in highly vulnerable municipal Well Head Protection Areas (WHPAs) or Intake Protection Zones (IPZ) have a greater chance of affecting the municipal water supply well if they are not functioning properly.

Use Norfolk's policy mapping tool to see if your property falls in a protected area. 

Common household chemicals and fuels can risk our drinking water sources if they are not properly stored, used, and disposed of. A minor spill or leak of these hazardous compounds can contaminate large groundwater and surface water volumes.

Hazardous materials can include:

  • Organic solvents found in paints, adhesives, degreasers, and cleaning products (used to dissolve substances such as oils, paint thinners, and glue solvents)
  • Dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs – pronounced dee-napples) are toxic chemicals typically found in paint removers, degreasers, and cleaning products.
  • Fuels include diesel, gasoline, home heating fuel, lubricating oils, and used oils.

How you can help:

  • Consider purchasing eco-friendly alternatives to hazardous chemicals.
  • Purchase only the amount of chemicals you need, and try to use up the entire container to avoid generating unnecessary waste.
  • Avoid transferring chemicals from one container to another container.
  • Dispose of fuels, chemicals, or other hazardous wastes at Norfolk County’s household hazardous waste disposal events free of charge.
  • Never pour chemicals or hazardous waste down the drain or into storm sewers.
  • Check your storage tanks regularly for signs of corrosion, staining under the tank, and strong smells of fuel or other chemicals

Salt and snow plowing helps keep our roads, parking lots, walkways, and driveways safe but may also potentially impact the quality of our groundwater and surface water sources.

Runoff from rain and melted water that comes into contact with salt and plowed snow may contain chemicals that can drain into drinking water sources.

How you can help:

  • Shoveling or plowing your snow instead of applying road salt. 
  • Shovelling as soon as possible after or during a snowfall to keep surfaces clear.
  • Consider using alternative de-icer materials that contain less sodium and chloride. Use only what you need to melt the snow or ice on your driveway or sidewalk, and do not over-salt.
  • Apply abrasives such as sand during colder temperatures to improve traction.

Read more about how Norfolk County keeps our roads safe during winter weather. 

Conserving water helps protect the underground reservoirs from which our drinking water is extracted. By following a few simple best practices, we can all do our part to ensure the longevity of our water sources.

Read more about how you can conserve water.

Lake Erie Source Protection Region

Norfolk County is located in the Long Point Region and Grand River watersheds, an area of land that catches rain and snow that drains into a common marsh, stream, river, lake, or groundwater. These watersheds and Catfish Creek and Kettle Creek make up the Lake Erie Source Protection Region.

Representatives from Norfolk County sit on the Lake Erie Source Protection Committee, responsible for identifying and managing current and future threats to drinking water in the region.

The committee seeks public input on important decisions. When public consultation occurs, notices will be posted on Norfolk County’s website.

Source Water Protection history 

In May 2000, heavy rain washed E. coli bacteria into a well, supplying water to Walkerton. This led to seven deaths and over 2,300 illnesses due to a series of human and mechanical failures.

The Ontario government responded by establishing the Walkerton Inquiry under Justice Dennis O’Connor, who issued a two-volume report with 121 recommendations to prevent future incidents. The Clean Water Act incorporates some of these recommendations, using a multi-barrier approach to ensure safe drinking water from source to tap.

The first step in this approach is Source Protection, which involves assessing and controlling risks to the surface and groundwater that supply Norfolk County’s five water treatment systems.

Contact us

For further information, please contact Source Protection:

Call: Zachary Lehman at 705-957-5571
Email: sourcewaterprotection@cambium-inc.com 

Contact Us

ServiceNorfolk

50 Colborne Street South
Simcoe, Ontario
N3Y 4H3

Phone: 519-426-5870 or 226-NORFOLK, extension 0

More ways to contact us

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