Drought Contingency Planning and Implementation at the Local Level in Ontario

Abstract

Responsibilities for water management in Ontario are shared among the federal, provincial and local levels of government. Recently, the local level (which includes municipalities and conservation authorities) has been assigned significantly more responsibilities. For example, the provincial government’s Ontario Low Water Response plan (OLWR) assigns key responsibilities to municipalities and conservation authorities. However, it is not clear that all local level agencies are capable of assuming these greater responsibilities. This paper reports findings from a study that used the community capacity literature to evaluate the role of the local level in drought contingency planning and implementation in two Ontario watersheds. The Big Creek watershed is dominated by agriculture, while the upper Credit River watershed faces great pressure from urban development. Both watersheds are dependent upon groundwater and have experienced reduced water supply during recent drought episodes. Based on an investigation into the roles, responsibilities and communication patterns among government agencies and non-government organizations in each watershed, it was concluded that watershed communities do have the capacity to create and implement a drought contingency plan. However, they require considerable assistance from the provincial government, especially in terms of regulating water withdrawals during periods of drought.