Regional council approves additional water extraction from Wilmot

By Lee Griffi

The Region of Waterloo met for seven-plus hours last week with water dominating the narrative. What resulted was the approval of more H2O being pumped out of Wilmot Township, but with some protections in place.

Councillors okayed an additional 15 litres per second from the Wilmot Centre well supply, something Mayor Natasha Salonen said will assist with growth areas until a new side stream system comes online to increase water supply later this year.

“(Those growth areas are) Kitchener, part of Cambridge, Waterloo and part of Woolwich Township. The other component, which I was particularly happy to see passed unanimously, was an amendment to protect Wilmot residents around this well.”

As has been widely reported in the Gazette and other area media, there have been over 30 complaints of well interference from Wilmot residents who have gone through stretches with no available water. Many of them feel the issue stems from too much water being pumped away from the township.

“I wanted to ensure we are properly investigating that and seeing if the correlation is actually a connection,” Salonen said. “While we are waiting for staff to bring back a new well interference policy (in August), I want to make sure my residents have access to water.”

Salonen explained that while the water will be pumped away from Wilmot, emergency water will be supplied to anyone who is experiencing a shortage.

Coun. Mike Harris, who represents the City of Kitchener, was able to pass a few motions, including a third-party review by the Ontario Clean Water Corporation (OCWA), a provincial Crown corporation.

“They will essentially validate the timelines and actual work staff are recommending, and I think that’s very important as there has been a loss of trust in the general public in terms of how things have unfolded with water-capacity constraints,” the Wilmot mayor said.

Salonen said the move is similar to what Wilmot did with its 2026 budget process in hiring KPMG, a third party brought in to instill faith in the process. She is also seeing a shift in how regional council is voting on important water issues.

Citizens for Safe Ground Water (CSGW) has been a very vocal supporter of change in how the region deals with water issues, and the group issued a statement following last week’s meeting. They are concerned about the increased pumping by the region.

“This means our aquifer will face increased pumping stress over the coming summer months, and we are still a summer away from seeing the new well interference policy and committee formally established in August,” the group said in a statement.

The group added the region did not get a blank check thanks to Salonen’s motion that immediately puts strict interim protections in place to guard households during this vulnerable summer period.

“This was only possible because of the incredible courage of our neighbours who stood up to delegate and speak truth to power today,” the statement adds.

The organization said residents must remain vigilant about the extra pumping but added the burden of proof when it comes to well interference has changed.

“Until the new policy is adopted, if you report water loss reasonably believed to be linked to municipal pumping, it is now the region’s job to prove its pumps are not the cause.”

The statement added any future requests to extract more Wilmot water must now go through a strict screening process that requires an assessment of impacts on surrounding private wells, costing and implementation options to connect affected private properties to the municipal water system, and costing and implementation options for drilling deep replacement wells or providing other secure, permanent water solutions for residents.

CSGW is also advising residents to closely monitor their wells, document any changes in water pressure or quality and report issues immediately to the region's 24/7 hotline at 519-575-4400 and to CSGW.

Salonen added the group’s vigilance has been a huge addition to the fight to ensure Wilmot residents provide her with real-time information on what’s happening under the ground.

“Samantha (Lernout) and Rory (Farnan) send me updates and I text them regularly. It’s been really helpful because out of 22,000 residents I represent, I can’t know everything that’s happening unless it's brought to my attention.”

She added she can tell people to report instances of well interference to the region, but sometimes having a neighbour provide support is a huge help.

“I would say it's important to have advocates on issues like this, but we also have amazing residents who have stepped up to advocate on behalf of their neighbours.”

Salonen explained she’s optimistic when it comes to the water supply for Wilmot residents in the future, but there is much work left to be done to strike an appropriate balance.

“I still think we aren’t really there and we’ve seen that from the development community. They’re still not satisfied with the pace at which we are going, and frankly, I share a lot of those concerns. I am pleased to see the province is formally engaged, and I think that will continue to drive positive outcomes.”