While the protection of our drinking water happens on multiple levels, Central Lake Ontario Conservation (CLOCA) is committed to protecting the quality and quantity of water at its source. Source water is untreated surface water from streams and lakes and groundwater from underground aquifers.
Ontario's current commitment to source water protection came out of the Walkerton crisis of 2000. The Clean Water Act, 2006, was created in response and highlights the Province's additional focus to include both water's ecological and recreational value and greater attention to public health protection.
CLOCA plays a critical role in local source water protection as a Source Protection Authority under the Clean Water Act and provides mandatory source water programs and services under the Conservation Authorities Act. Our upstream approach of preventing initial contamination of source water prioritizes clean drinking water and eases the burden on water treatment and distribution systems downstream. CLOCA is invested in safeguarding surface water and groundwater and ensuring it remains a reliable source for us and local ecosystems now and in the future.
CLOCA has a multifaceted approach to source water protection. This includes:
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An extensive Water Monitoring Network that supports our source water protection program
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Collaborating with CTC Source Protection
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Collaborating with the Oak Ridges Moraine Groundwater Program
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Partnering with the Greenbelt Foundation
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Owning and managing over 2, 700 hectares of conservation lands (protecting land is protecting water)
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Offering the Well Decommissioning Program to private landowners ​​
Sources of drinking water and how they are protected. Conservation Ontario, 1 min 14 sec
CTC Source Water Protection
​CLOCA is part of a broader Source Water Protection Region that includes the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and Credit Valley Conservation, collectively called the CTC (first initial of each Conservation Authority). Recognizing shared water resources, we are working together to monitor, identify threats, and regulate water protection across these three jurisdictions as we seek to keep drinking water sources clean and encourage wise water use.
Oak Ridges Moraine Groundwater Program
The Oak Ridges Moraine is one of Ontario’s natural wonders! It’s a massive 200-kilometre-long east-to-west ridge of rolling hills made of gravel and sand deposited during the last glacial retreat. About 60 kilometres north of Lake Ontario, it extends from the Niagara Escarpment to the Trent River. Water easily percolates through these sediments and is stored as groundwater or is pushed up in seeps (slow and intermittent flow) and springs (rapid and continuous flow) that form the headwaters of many local streams.
Map showing the paths of water flowing from the Oak Ridges Moraine. The thickness of the line corresponds to the area of the Oak Ridges Moraine drained by each branch of water flow. All flow-lines outside of the Oak Ridges Moraine represent the downstream paths of water originating on the Oak Ridges Moraine. The Lynde Creek, Oshawa Creek, Farewell Creek, and Bowmanville Creek all fall within CLOCA's jurisdiction. Oak Ridges Trail Association
​These seeps and springs provide stability and resilience to streams during dry periods, keeping water levels stable even with little precipitation. This resilience is crucial for managing drought conditions and ensuring long-term water security for stream ecosystems. Local streams support habitat and wildlife including aquatic species at risk such as the endangered Redside Dace as well as Brook Trout and Atlantic Salmon all of which benefit from a year-round cold water supply.​
Groundwater and the Oak Ridges Moraine, narrated by hydrogeologist Steve Holysh.
Greenbelt Foundation, 7 min 42 sec
Best of all, the Oak Ridges Moraine acts as a natural filtration system! As rainwater percolates through the Moraine’s layers of sand and gravel, it is purified before reaching wells and reservoirs, providing a clean, reliable water supply. The Oak Ridges Moraine Groundwater Program (ORMGP) is a coalition of 15 government agencies (including CLOCA), and more recently local consulting companies, that are working collaboratively to better understand and manage water resources on and around the Oak Ridges Moraine. With a core foundation of rigorous data management, the Program provides a multi-agency, collaborative approach to collecting, analyzing, and disseminating water resource knowledge as a basis for effective decision-making and stewardship of water resources in this part of Ontario. Agencies and consultants look to the program to provide the regional geological and hydrogeological context for their ongoing technical studies and management initiatives.
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The ORMGP has long advocated for data-driven decision-making advocating that the root of effective water management is ready access to high-quality data. The Program's extensive database is one of Canada's largest, actively managed groundwater databases, containing a wealth of geological and hydrogeological data. The data has been used to interpret the subsurface geology and the area's groundwater flow system allowing the Program to produce an authoritative understanding of:
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geological layering for the area
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groundwater flow system
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groundwater flow system's linkage to the region's surface waters.
Partner agencies and consultants continue to benefit from the cooperative approach taken to advance groundwater knowledge in this part of Ontario.
Greenbelt Foundation
The Greenbelt Foundation is the only organization solely dedicated to ensuring the Greenbelt remains permanent, protected, and prosperous. The Oak Ridges Moraine is protected entirely within the Greenbelt. The Greenbelt Act was passed in 2005 protecting 2 million acres of one of the most biologically rich areas in Canada.
Map showing the Greenbelt with the various components of the Greenbelt labeled including the Oak Ridges Moraine.
Ontario's Greenbelt. Greenbelt Foundation, 2 minutes
Conservation Lands
What happens on the land is mirrored in the water. In many cases, protecting land is protecting water. CLOCA is always working towards increasing conservation lands within Durham Region. Land protection is focused mainly on three significant natural features that run horizontally across CLOCA’s jurisdiction: the Oak Ridge Moraine to the north, the Lake Iroquois Beach, and the Lake Ontario Shoreline.
Well Decommissioning Program
Wells that are older and wells that have not been properly maintained, provide direct pathways to groundwater or aquifers and can pose a direct threat to drinking water. In an effort to protect groundwater, the Well Decommissioning Program is offered by CLOCA to private landowners.