What are Justice O’Connor’s recommendations from the Report of the Walkerton Commission of Inquiry on water conservation?
One of the most important recommendations, made by Justice O’Connor in his Walkerton Inquiry Report, was the development of mandatory watershed source protection plans throughout the province. Conservation planning would be the foundation of source protection plans. He recommended that every source protection plan include a water budget. A water budget would assess the amount of water available in the watershed and the amount of water being removed. Protection plans would have to identify all significant withdrawals of water, all sources of pollution, areas of groundwater vulnerability and wellhead areas. Vulnerability mapping would show where source protection measures are most urgently needed. In watersheds where shortages occur, Justice O’Connor recognized that the Ministry of the Environment may have granted permits to take water or certificates of approval that exceed the available supply or the capacity of the system to absorb all the pollutants. He suggested the Ministry of the
