Water survey for ICI customers

Industrial, commercial, and institutional land use drinking water threats inventory update

The 2023 City of Guelph Drinking Water Protection Survey will begin in May. Please complete the survey by Wednesday November 1, 2023.

The Clean Water Act requires communities including the City of Guelph to take specific measures to protect its sources of drinking water. Our first step is to update our inventory of potential threats to Guelph’s drinking water sources in relation to industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) land use.

Updating the potential drinking water inventory will assist us in complying with The Clean Water Act and associated regulations and policies of the approved Grand River Source Protection Plan, and also help us be proactive in protecting drinking water sources in Guelph.

The Clean Water Act identifies 22 activities as prescribed drinking water threats (like sewage management, use and storage of fertilizers, pesticides and oil, etc.). The purpose of this inventory update is to evaluate if these activities are present in sensitive areas and to evaluate the potential that these activities could affect Guelph’s water supply.

How we’ll update our inventory of drinking water threat activities

The City has hired WSP and the Logit Group to reach out to ICI properties and businesses and update our records. They will reach out directly to ICI properties and businesses by email/telephone to review current information, make necessary updates and identify activities that are potential drinking water threats.

The survey will launch in May. You’ll have about six weeks to complete it. Questions are based on your circumstances. Where applicable, we may ask you to provide information on how materials such as chemicals, soil nutrients, pesticides, fuels and winter salt are used and stored on your property.

Your action is required: You will receive a personalized PIN in May, to complete the survey. When you receive that personalized PIN, complete the survey online, by phone or mail by November 1, 2023.

Survey follow up

If the initial review shows that there is potential for activities to be a threat to drinking water, or if we do not receive a survey response, we may arrange to conduct an in-person site inspection to obtain more details.

If this on-site inspection confirms that an activity (or activities) on the property are a significant threat to drinking water the city will follow up with property or business owners to develop an appropriate risk management plan to minimize the threat to our drinking water sources.

If it’s determined that a threat is present, the property owner will be directed to develop a risk management plan, or take appropriate action to address the threat.

Typical activities that are threats to drinking water include things like handling and storage of fuel, handling and storage of chemicals. The likelihood that an activity will require a risk management plan will typically depend upon location and the quantities stored and the condition of storage facilities.

About the drinking water threat activity inventory

The drinking water threat activity inventory will provide an up-to-date record of what activities are occurring on industrial, commercial and institutional properties and rate the relative risk that such activities can impact Guelph’s drinking water sources.

An accurate inventory of threat activities is required to comply with policies set out through the Approved Grand River Source Protection Plan as per The Clean Water Act and associated regulations. This information will also assist the City to be proactive when planning to monitor and protect Guelph’s drinking water sources.

Privacy

All individual responses will be kept confidential and will be used for further program development and optimization only.

Personal information, as defined by Section 2 of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (MFIPPA) is collected under the authority of the Municipal Act, 2001, and in accordance with the provisions of the MFIPPA.

For more information

Please contact the Logit Group at 1-888-347-7596 or [email protected] if you have any questions about the survey or need help completing the survey.