Grand River Conservation Authority

Grand River Conservation Authority Report number: GM-06-19-61 Date: June 28, 2019 To: Members of Grand River Conservation Authority Subject: Water Management Plan Reporting – Five years of implementation Recommendation: THAT Report Number GM-06-19-61 – Water Management Plan Reporting – Five years of implementation be received as information. Summary: Through a long-standing commitment to improve watershed water management, the Grand River Conservation Authority continues to support and coordinate a collaborative Water Management Plan with municipalities, government agencies, and First Nations. The GRCA role is to co-ordinate and facilitate this plan by collaborating with partners, hosting and organizing meetings and introducing new staff in partner agencies to the plan. The goals of the Plan are to 1. Reduce flood damage potential; 2. Ensure water supply for communities, economies and ecosystems; 3. Improve water quality to improve river health and reduce the river’s impact on Lake Erie; and 4. Increase resiliency to deal with a changing climate across the watershed. This Plan provides the framework from which partner agencies can align work plans to help realize greater outcomes for effective watershed water management. A fundamental outcome of the plan is to look for best value solutions to water management problems and issues in the watershed and to act as neutral party to assist with finding solutions. Report: Managing water resources in Ontario is a shared responsibility. The Water Management Plan provides the framework for collective and collaborative action on water management that transcends municipal boundaries. The goals of the Plan are to 1. Reduce flood damage potential; 2. Ensure water supply for communities, economies and ecosystems; 3. Improve water quality to improve river health and reduce the river’s impact on Lake Erie; and 4. Increase resiliency to deal with a changing climate across the watershed. Active partners in the Plan or aspects of the Plan, include: Brant County Township of Southgate City of Brantford Oxford County City of Cambridge Dufferin County City of Kitchener Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs 72 City of Waterloo Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks City of Guelph Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Region of Waterloo Six Nations of the Grand River Haldimand County Mississaugas of the New Credit Township of Centre Environment and Climate Change Canada Wellington Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) and its predecessors have a long-history of supporting collaboration across municipal boundaries. For instance, due to widespread flooding in the 1920’s and early 1930’s, business leaders from several communities along the Grand River came together to push for a water management agency to address watershed scale water issues. More recent initiatives include: The Basin Study (1982); The Grand Strategy (1994); Focus on Issues (1998) and now the Grand River Water Management Plan Update and its implementation (2014-2019). Our role is to provide the watershed ‘table’ around which transboundary water issues, challenges and solutions can be discussed for more effective water management across the Grand River watershed. GRCA supports this collaboration by hosting quarterly meetings of the Water Managers Working Group that is comprised of senior managers from partner agencies. Beyond hosting meetings, GRCA facilitates discussion and actions to manage issues raise by partners, bringing internal experience, knowledge and skills to the table or connecting partners with knowledgeable contacts in the field of water management. The GRCA also creates a continuity of knowledge and shares information as staff in partner agencies change. The full Implementation Report is found here https://www.grandriver.ca/en/our- watershed/Water-management-plan.aspx. It provides a summary of the achievements made by municipalities, government agencies, First Nations and others who, collectively, make a positive impact on water management in the Grand River watershed. A partner report will be issued this fall that highlights the State of the Water Resources in the watershed. This report will profile whether the goals of the Water Management Plan are being achieved. For instance, is water quality improving? Are we ensuring water supplies for our communities, economies and ecosystems? Have we reduced flood damage potential? And are will building resiliency to deal with a changing climate? Preliminary findings show encouraging results. Water quality below the Kitchener wastewater treatment plant has improved greatly; water demand is decreasing due to many conservation programs; and new tools that are available for flood damage reduction are showing immense benefit however, we to build resiliency - both in our human systems – e.g. sharing of knowledge and best practices as well as the ensuring resiliency of our landscape in this watershed. Highlights of the actions completed by Plan partners follows this report. Financial implications: A number of GRCA staff from the Resource Management and Engineering Divisions support watershed water management planning which is aligned with the Water Management Plan. These staff also provide technical support to watershed municipalities which is also consistent with the Water Management Plan. 73 Since 2015, GRCA has received a total of $257,000 in government funding to support collaborative water management planning. As part of the implementation of the Water Management Plan, GRCA provides support for the coordination of the collaboration among municipalities, Provincial and Federal government agencies and Six Nations partners. Coordination of the plan has averaged about 0.40 FTE per year over five years, amounting to $50,000 per year. A number of GRCA staff from the Resource Management and Engineering Divisions support watershed water management planning which aligns with the Water Management Plan. These staff also provide technical support to watershed municipalities. Programs that are outcomes of the collaborative water management planning process have also received funding including the Watershed-wide Wastewater Optimization program. Other department considerations: Staff from the Engineering and Resource Management divisions provide support to the collaboration and coordination of the Water Management Plan Prepared by: Approved by: Sandra Cooke Dwight Boyd, P.Eng. Senior Water Quality Supervisor, Chair, Director, Engineering Water Managers Working Group 74 Managing water resources in Ontario is a shared responsibility. The Water Management Plan provides the framework for collective and collaborative action on water management that transcends municipal boundaries. Goals of the Watershed Water Management Plan Ensure water supply for communities, economies and ecosystems Improve water quality to improve river health and reduce the river’s impact on Lake Erie Reduce flood damage potential Increase resiliency to deal with a changing climate Active partners in the Plan or aspects of the Plan, include: Brant County Township of Southgate City of Brantford Oxford County City of Cambridge Dufferin County City of Kitchener Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs City of Waterloo Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks City of Guelph Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Region of Waterloo Six Nations of the Grand River Haldimand County Mississaugas of the New Credit Township of Centre Wellington Environment and Climate Change Canada Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) and its predecessors have a long-history of supporting collaboration across municipal boundaries. For instance, due to widespread flooding in the 1920’s and early 1930’s, business leaders from several communities along the Grand River came together to push for a water management agency to address watershed scale water issues. More recent initiatives include: The Basin Study (1982); The Grand Strategy (1994); Focus on Issues (1998) and now the Grand River Water Management Plan Update and its implementation (2014-2019). The following highlights are key actions completed by Plan partners to advance the goals of Watershed Water Management Plan: 1 75 Ensure water supply for communities, economies, and ecosystems Most, but not all, municipalities have long term water supply plans Some municipalities have set demand management objectives and results are encouraging – they are showing a decrease in demand over time. The province’s Water Taking Reporting System has been greatly improved as reporting has shifted from permitted to actual water takings. Municipal water supplies may not be ‘secure’ due to changes in the approach by the regulatory authority. Integrated surface and ground water (Tier 3) models have improved our understanding of the reliability of water supply for municipalities as well as helped to quantify groundwater recharge Through active reservoir operations, reliability of meeting operational river flow targets are achieved consistently over 95% of the time which is the design standard for the reservoirs Local areas of water constraint include Whitemans Creek and Eramosa River however, local water plans have not been developed. However, new Tier 3 water budget models have been developed through the Source Protection Planning program for these areas which can support local water management decisions. A drought contingency plan (2014) and low water response continue to be tools for approaching low water conditions such as

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