About the Cobourg Municipal Drinking Water System
The Cobourg Municipal Drinking Water System is 1 of 53 municipal residential drinking water systems in the Trent Conservation Coalition Source Protection Region, and 1 of 6 such systems in the Ganaraska Region Source Protection Area.
On January 1, 2015, policies set out in the Ganaraska Source Protection Plan came into effect to better protect the source water for the municipal drinking water system by reducing or eliminating significant threats associated with certain land based activities. The Plan was developed under the Clean Water Act, 2006, in response to the Walkerton Inquiry.
Intake Protection Zone Map
| Water Source | Surface Water — Lake Ontario |
|---|---|
| Owned By | Town of Cobourg |
| Operating Authority | Lakefront Utility Services Inc. |
| Serviced Population | 18,500 (approximately) |
| Annual Pump Rate | 10,258 cubic metres per day (average) |
| Intake Depth | 12 metres (approximate) |
| Treatment System | In addition to the full conventional treatment process, additional sodium hypochlorite re-chlorination facilities at booster pumping station and 2 elevated storage tanks. |
July 2016 (data from Ganaraska Assessment Report)
- Ganaraska Assessment Report
- Ganaraska Source Protection Plan
- Explanatory Document
(Trent and Ganaraska Source Protection Plans)
Administration Office
2216 County Road 28
Port Hope, ON L1A 3V8
T: 905.885.8173
F: 905.885.9824
Ganaraska Forest Centre
10585 Cold Springs Camp Road
Campbellcroft, ON L0A 1B0
T: 905.885.8173
F: 905.797.2545
Drinking Water Threats
A drinking water threat is a land-based activity that can impact the quality of a municipal drinking water source, due to a spill or leak.
Drinking water threats can only occur in the Cobourg Intake Protection Zone (as shown in the included maps) and illustrated on the Policy Applicability Map, included in the Ganaraska Source Protection Plan.
The vulnerability scores for the Cobourg Intake Protection Zone are too low to create prescribed significant drinking water threats within the IPZ‐1 and IPZ‐2 to the Cobourg Municipal Drinking Water System. Significant drinking water threats are only possible when identified through an event based modelling approach.
Within the Cobourg Intake Protection Zone, the current existing significant drinking water threats include the activities of a spill from an oil pipeline that crosses a stream, a spill from marina fuel storage, and a discharge associated with a disinfection failure at the municipal waste water treatment plant. These three threats are mitigated through risk management, emergency preparedness and sound operational practices.
Threats to Sources of Drinking Water
The Clean Water Act, 2006, identifies 22 activities that can pose a threat to sources of drinking water. To simplify things, these threats have been grouped into the seven categories below.
The location, scale and nature of an activity determine if it poses a low, moderate or significant threat to the municipal drinking water source. Policies in the Ganaraska Source Protection Plan only apply to significant drinking water threats.
Improperly maintained septic systems and storm water runoff can transport chemicals, bacteria and viruses into a drinking water source.
Unsafe handling or storage of products such as paint, fuel, used motor oil and solvents - a small quantity can contaminate large amounts of water. This category includes hydrocarbon pipelines.
Improper use or storage of products like paint removers, adhesives, stains, oils, and metal cleaner.
Storage and land application of pesticides, commercial fertilizers, and other nutrients (e.g. manure); livestock pasturing, grazing and confinement.
Excessive salt use on roads, parking lots, and other surfaces and stored salt that may be exposed to precipitation or runoff.
Run-off from melting piles of plowed snow (e.g. in parking lots). Plowed snow is “dirty”, often contaminated by salt, oil, grease, heavy metals and other pollutants.
Taking water without replacing it and activities that prevent rain or snow from entering the ground can lead to a water shortage.
Contact Information
Jessica Mueller
Watershed Hydrogeologist /
Source Water Protection Lead
Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority
Phone: 905.885.8173 x222
Email: charris@grca.on.ca