About Permits to Take Water

A Permit to Take Water (PTTW) is required if you plan to take 50,000 plus litres of water in a day from the environment, regulated under the Ontario Water Resources Act, and Ontario Regulation 387/04, unless your water taking activity is exempt or requires an Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR) registration.

Review Environmental permissions for water taking to find out if your water taking activity is exempt or requires an EASR registration.

Ontario’s Permit to Take Water program ensures water takings in Ontario are managed to the standards of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement.

This includes:

  • a lake
  • a stream
  • a river
  • a pond
  • groundwater

New or increased transfers of water between Great Lake watersheds are also regulated in Ontario and PTTWs ensure water takings in Ontario are managed to the standards of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement.

The review and approval of PTTWs support the conservation, protection and management of the water in Ontario for its efficient and sustainable use, to promote Ontario’s long-term environmental, social and economic well-being.

Understand the PTTW application process

Prerequisite requirements

Before applying for a PTTW:

  1. create a ministry account, if you do not already have one
  2. determine your application category
  3. for category 2 and 3 applications, review:
  4. retain a qualified person for category 2 and 3 applications
  5. prepare applicable supporting documents

Please make sure that you obtain any other approvals, licenses or permissions that may be required, such as municipal permits.

Application submission

You must submit your application using the online system through your ministry account and include all required supporting documents.

Ontario.ca Login provides 24/7 access to your ministry account. If you need one-on-one assistance with creating your ministry account or navigating the online PTTW system, you can contact us.

Review process

Screening and technical review

Your application, once submitted undergoes an initial screening to verify that the application is complete and if required, it is posted on the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) for a minimum 30-day public consultation period.

A detailed technical review is then conducted assessing the scientific and technical information provided against regulatory requirements and environmental standards. Where appropriate, we notify Indigenous communities, municipalities and conservation authorities to gather additional input.

Information requests

If required, additional information may be requested during the screening or technical review of your application.

Cancelled applications

An application may be cancelled at any point during the approval process if the required information is not provided within the specified timelines or if deficiencies are identified. A refund may be issued.

Decision

We consider multiple factors when determining whether a PTTW should be issued, including:

  • aboriginal and treaty rights
  • conformance of the water taking with the regulations
  • ecosystem needs
  • water availability
  • intended use of the water taken
  • potential impact to other water users
  • source protection requirements
  • comments from the public or potentially affected water users
  • other relevant matters

Once a decision is made on the application, it is posted on the ERO. If the application is approved, a PTTW is issued with an expiry date and a set of legally binding terms and conditions to protect water resources and to prevent interference with other water users.

Refused applications

An application may be refused if we determine that the PTTW cannot be issued for reasons such as inadequate design, compliance or legal issues, or if it is not in the public interest.

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