Local MPP weighs in on region’s water woes

By Lee Griffi

Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Mike Harris said he and his government are in close contact with the Region of Waterloo as it deals with a water shortage.

“Since the Region of Waterloo made me aware of water capacity concerns in the Mannheim service area, I have been in regular contact with Regional Chair Redman and staff on the region’s plan to resolve this issue,” said Harris in a written statement released to the media.

Harris added while responsibility for planning and maintaining water infrastructure lies with the region, he and his government colleagues, including the minister of environment, conservation and parks and the minister of municipal affairs and housing, have been collaborating with the municipality.

“These conversations have been productive, bringing forward several preliminary solutions.”

Not everyone is taking Harris at face value, including the vice chair of the Grand River Environmental Network.

“It is astounding to see him ducking any responsibility and trying to shift blame for this water crisis to the region when it is his government that has destroyed our community’s visionary, sustainable regional official plan and removed planning authority completely from the Region of Waterloo with no rationale or justification,” said Kevin Thomason.

“How can they expect the region to solve this water crisis without the needed power and authority to properly guide growth, development and infrastructure most efficiently in our region? It is confounding.”

Thomason said provincial decisions are at the root of the region’s water issues, including the approval of hundreds of water-taking permits without study and the acceptance of all aggregate pit applications despite objections. He added the government is also overriding regional government water concerns to approve developments on essential primary groundwater recharge areas in Mannheim.

“They have forced thousands of acres of unnecessary urban sprawl, destroying our farms, wetlands and natural aquifer areas. They have desecrated our conservation authorities, prohibited important green development standards requiring green roofs, cisterns and water efficiency measures, and eliminated essential development charges that funded necessary water and wastewater infrastructure.”

In an interview with the Gazette, Harris said Thomason’s blame toward the government is completely unfounded because the region has been responsible for its own water supply since the early 1970s.

“Whether that’s source protection, purification, or the actual pumping capacity that is generated,” Harris said. “So, to say the Ford government is the one running roughshod here; I don’t understand that. The region thought they had enough pumping capacity, so they had maybe deferred some maintenance or weren’t making the necessary investments.”

He added a review of the numbers show the region underestimated the amount of development on the horizon. Harris said the water problem in the region is strictly a capacity issue, adding it has nothing to do with the quality or quantity.

“There is still plenty of water in the region’s aquifers. We just can’t get it out of the ground fast enough with the existing infrastructure. That is the crux of the problem. Making that very clear is extremely important because I don’t want people to think we are going to run out of water.”

He added when people make comments about the taps running dry, it creates panic and misunderstanding.

“It’s not helpful.”

Thomason said the province has forced development on Wilmot Township and the rest of the region with no regard for the water supply, acting as if it were unlimited.

“They ignored our essential planning and water resource balance that our region has always depended on to grow rapidly as one of the fastest growing areas in North America, within the carrying capacity of our watershed.”

Harris is confident the region will be able to continue with growth, and it needs an additional 400 litres of water per second to move ahead with new building permits and development.

“It could be a single-family home, a retirement home, a not-for-profit housing project or a church. It’s not just about housing development. It’s also about economic development and our farms and agri-food processing capacity and all kinds of things,” Harris said.   

He added he is confident the region will be able to unlock more capacity over the next few months, allowing low-risk permits where little water will be required.

“The permits that have already been signed, sealed and delivered are still moving forward. Let’s say something has a permit and they are going to start building tomorrow. It’s probably a year or more before that house or building is going to be drawing water from the system.”

According to Thomason, the province has shown a continuous disregard for a proper planning process, public consultation, expert engagement and necessary studies that have led to this current water crisis and full development approval moratorium. He also offered up four asks to improve the situation. 

“We need the help and assistance of the provincial government to finally properly protect our Waterloo Moraine aquifers like they have the Oak Ridges Moraine and other vulnerable groundwater and headwater areas with Greenbelt or Bluebelt protection.”

The second request is to cancel the absurd 770-acre land assembly, followed by a moratorium from Harris’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry on water-taking permits and new aggregate pits to protect groundwater aquifers.

“We also need the province to restore the regional planning authority and our visionary, sustainable regional official plan to ensure the collaboration and efficiencies with our area municipalities working together rather than against each other,” Thomason said.  

Harris said the province has not yet committed funding to address the region’s capacity constraints, but he believes assistance is on the way.

“There will be some asks, but most of the incremental capacity pieces the region is doing right now, they are going to be able to manage from existing budgets. The province will be there to assist where we can,” Harris said.