Walkerton Inquiry
In May 2000, water contaminated by a virulent strain of E. coli bacteria made its way into the municipal water system of the community of Walkerton. Within days, seven people had died and thousands of others had become ill from drinking the contaminated water.
As a result of the events in Walkerton, the provincial government convened an inquiry, which was led by Justice Dennis O'Connor of the Supreme Court of Ontario. In 2002, Justice O'Connor released two report findings and recommendations to ensure safe water supply systems in Ontario. Part 1 described the events that took place in Walkerton and the series of human and system failures that led to the water being contaminated. Part 2 of the report focused on the public policy development for the protection of Ontario's drinking supply. A total of 121 recommendations were made with 22 of those related to source water protection.
Justice O'Connor recommended that drinking water is best protected by taking an approach that uses multiple barriers to prevent contamination from affecting our drinking water, called the 'multi-barrier approach.' Actions to prevent contamination include water treatment and distribution systems, water testing, and training of water managers.
Parts 1 and 2 of the Walkerton Report are available from the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General's website.
White Paper on Watershed-based Source Protection Planning (PDF 2.5 mb)
February 2004: The White Paper, released by the Ministry of Environment, proposed an approach for the development of a watershed-based source protection program and a legislative framework for the development and approval of source protection plans.
Summary Report on Public Consultation on the White Paper (PDF 389k)
March 2004: A summary of comments received during consultation on the White Paper on Watershed-based Source Protection Planning.
Watershed-based Source Protection Planning: Implementation Committee Report to the Minister of the Environment (PDF 1.7mb)
November 2004: This report makes recommendations on tools and approaches to implement watershed-based source protection plans including funding mechanisms.
Watershed-based Source Protection Planning: Science-based Decision-making for Protecting Ontario's Drinking Water Resources (PDF 3.4mb )
November 2004: This report makes recommendations on how to identify and effectively address possible threats to drinking water.
Other documents
The Importance of Watershed Management in Protecting Ontario's Drinking Water Supplies (PDF 812k)
March 2001: The presentation made by Conservation Ontario to the Walkerton Inquiry.
