After a two-year review, Ontario has rejected a call for new legislation to protect underground water supplies.
"I think it validates what we've been doing," Waterloo Regional Chair Ken Seiling said. "We're on the right path and we're doing the right things."
Local environmentalist David Wellhauser is disappointed with the province's conclusions.
"They incorrectly identified that the existing acts will protect the Waterloo moraine," he said. "They didn't look at any new information. They didn't look at any site-specific information. These are all major shortfalls of the report."
The Ministry of the Environment launched its review in 2007, after Wellhauser complained that local drinking water is not protected from planned urban growth.
The review generated three reports costing taxpayers $84,600 in consulting fees, plus undetermined ministry costs.
"We found that the current provincial policies that we have in place are adequate for the protection of the moraine," said Ann Marie Weselan, a bureaucrat who helps manage water policy for the province.
The province looked at the Waterloo, Paris and Galt moraines, which supply drinking water from beneath the ground. The review, just released, concludes that:
Water supplies are adequately protected by eight provincial laws and local government efforts.
There's no need for special legislation similar to legislation that protects the Oak Ridges moraine, north of Toronto.
Water quality is threatened in places by road salt and agricultural fertilizers, but strategies are in place to reduce impacts.
Reports are online under the water section of the Ministry of the Environment website.
The ministry says it will work with communities and other partners to develop new materials to help guide water policies.
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