Groves named Chair of NBMCA Source Protection Committee

North Bay - Mattawa Conservation Authority
News Release

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The North Bay - Mattawa Conservation Authority (NBMCA) announced today the Minister of the Environment's appointment of Barbara Groves, Mayor of Chisholm Township, to the position of Chair of the North Bay - Mattawa Source Protection Committee. As Chair, Ms. Groves will be responsible for leading a local committee in the creation of a plan to protect the quality and quantity of the region's sources of municipal drinking water.

"I'm very excited to be a part of this project," says Ms. Groves. "Developing the Source Protection Plan for the North Bay - Mattawa area will be a rewarding challenge. It's absolutely vital that we preserve and safeguard our region's drinking water resources now and for the future."

Source protection planning is a component of Ontario's Clean Water Act, 2006 and is being carried out in 19 regions across the province. Facilitated at a local level by the North Bay - Mattawa Conservation Authority, the development of the science-based plan will be led by a
local multi-stakeholder committee. The planning process is expected to take up to five years.

The source protection committee will be responsible for the creation of a watershed assessment report that identifies significant threats and risks to the source water for the five municipal drinking water systems in the North Bay - Mattawa area The five municipal systems service the communities of Callander, Mattawa, North Bay, Powassan and South River.

Upon approval of the Assessment Report, the Committee will be responsible for developing a local Source Protection Plan to reduce risks (if present) to ensure the quality and quantity of the region's municipal drinking water sources. Once the plan is approved by the Minister of the Environment, the fifteen municipalities within the region will then need to implement the plan recommendations.

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