Introduction

Ontario’s regulated drinking water systems are among the most rigorously protected in the world. This report highlights the actions taken to help ensure residents across Ontario have access to safe, clean drinking water. These efforts include strong oversight, science-based decision-making, and collaboration with partners across the province to preserve this vital resource.

Ontario’s drinking water systems continue to perform exceptionally well. In 2024–2025, 99.9% of over 528,000 drinking water tests from municipal residential systems met provincial standards. These results reflect the dedication of water operators, municipalities, system owners, laboratories, and ministry staff who work every day to uphold public health and environmental protection. Ontario’s drinking water regulatory framework remains one of the most robust in the world, and the province continues to promote continuous improvement as new challenges and opportunities emerge.

Proactive steps are being taken to address emerging contaminants such as Per‑ and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) by expanding monitoring programs and laboratory methods. Work is also underway to improve transparency and accessibility, including the development of a consolidated Drinking Water Benchmarks List that compiles all of Ontario’s drinking water standards, objectives, and guidelines in one document.

The province is investing in the long-term sustainability of drinking water systems through initiatives like the Drinking Water and Wastewater Operator Workforce Strategy, which strengthens recruitment, training, and retention across the water operator sector. These efforts help ensure Ontario maintains a skilled and resilient workforce capable of meeting the evolving needs of communities.

Supporting First Nations communities remains a top priority. Through the Walkerton Clean Water Centre and the Ontario Clean Water Agency, capacity-building, training, and infrastructure solutions tailored to community needs are being delivered.

Clean drinking water is a shared responsibility. By continuing to collaborate, innovate, and invest, Ontario is committed to keeping drinking water safe and sustainable for generations to come.

Ontario’s drinking water standards

Ontario sets standards and establishes objectives and guidelines to help ensure safe and palatable drinking water for Ontarians.

Enhanced monitoring of Per‑ and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Ontario Drinking Water

Ontario’s interim Per‑ and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) related advice is based on the reported performance of certified treatment technology, and on the recommendation that PFAS concentrations be reduced to levels as low as reasonably achievable.

The ministry has expanded its testing methods for drinking water, to monitor for 35 PFAS which include the 25 PFAS used to establish Health Canada’s new Drinking Water Objective for PFAS.

The ministry has also initiated a pilot monitoring program to test PFAS levels in drinking water from regulated systems within 2 kilometres of firehalls. The ministry is expanding the scope of this monitoring program to include drinking water systems in the vicinity of current or past industrial activities associated with PFAS use.

New Drinking Water Benchmarks List

The ministry is developing a new Drinking Water Benchmarks List that will compile all Ontario drinking water benchmarks into one list on Ontario.ca.

Benchmarks to be compiled through the list include:

  • Ontario Drinking Water Quality Standards (standards) — Health-Based regulatory standards set out in Ontario Regulation 169/03 made under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002
  • Aesthetic objectives (objectives) — non-regulatory benchmarks for parameters that may impair the taste, odour or colour of water or that may interfere with good water quality control practices
  • Operational guidelines (guidelines) — non-regulatory benchmarks for parameters that, if not controlled, may negatively affect the efficient and effective treatment, disinfection and distribution of the water

Ontario Drinking Water Advisory Council Advice

The Drinking Water Advisory Council has provided advice to the ministry related to drinking water standards for 27 contaminants. The council has recommended that 18 standards be reaffirmed. Reaffirmation of those standards would be noted in the new Drinking Water Benchmarks List. The council has provided advice for the remaining 9 contaminants that the ministry will consider before any related updates are made to the Drinking Water Benchmarks List.

Emerging issues

The ministry did not identify any new emerging issues for 2025.

Key findings from the Chief Drinking Water Inspector report

Ontario’s Chief Drinking Water Inspector is required to report annually on the performance of Ontario’s regulated drinking water systems. Data associated with the 2024-2025 Chief Drinking Water Inspector report is also available on Ontario’s Data Catalogue.

This year’s results show that Ontario drinking water continues to be among the best protected in the world.

Municipal and laboratory results

More than 80% of Ontario residents receive drinking water from a municipal residential drinking water system in the city or town where they live. These drinking water systems are inspected each year to check whether they are following the province’s drinking water regulations.

In addition, laboratories licensed by the province to perform drinking water testing are inspected twice per year and must report all test results to the ministry within ten (10) days of those inspections.

The 2024-2025 test and inspection results for Ontario’s municipal drinking water systems and licensed laboratories show that:

  • 99.9% of the over 528,000 drinking water tests from municipal residential drinking water systems met Ontario’s drinking water standards
  • 76% of municipal residential drinking water systems received a 100% inspection rating
    • 99.8% of municipal residential drinking water systems received an inspection rating greater than 80%
  • 69% of laboratories received a 100% rating in at least 1 of their inspections
    • 100% of laboratory inspections received an inspection rating greater than 80%
    • 47% of laboratories received a 100% in both inspections

Compliance and enforcement activities

Ministry inspectors and investigators conduct compliance and enforcement activities to help ensure the regulated community is complying with Ontario’s drinking water legislation.

In 2024-2025, the following orders were issued to address violations:

  • 8 orders to owners of non-municipal year-round residential systems
  • 6 orders to owners of systems serving designated facilities (for example, health care facilities, children’s camps and other facilities as defined in Ontario Regulation 170/03 made under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002)
  • 3 orders to licensed laboratories

In 2024-2025, owners and/or operators of 5 systems that supplied drinking water to municipal and non-municipal residential systems were charged with offences under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002, convicted, and fined for a combined total of $87,500.

All issues of non-compliance that led to these convictions have been resolved. All issues of non-compliance that led to these orders have been or are currently in the process of being resolved or were referred for investigation.

For further details about these orders and convictions, please refer to the 2024-2025 Chief Drinking Water Inspector Report or the 2024-2025 Drinking Water Quality and Enforcement Dataset on the Ontario’s Data Catalogue.

Lead testing at schools and child care centres

Ontario requires lead testing in drinking water in all schools and child care centres.

  • data from schools and child care centres shows that 97.5% of the over 21,000 test results (from standing and flushed samples) met the provincial standard for lead (10 micrograms per litre) in drinking water
  • this number increases to 98.7% when only looking at flushed samples

Fewer flushed test results exceeded the lead standard than standing test results; this is consistent with previous years and demonstrates that flushing is an effective way to temporarily reduce lead levels below the provincial standard for lead. More permanent solutions include replacing or removing problematic fixtures or using filters on taps in accordance with the manufacturers’ instructions.

The ministry’s webpage on flushing and sampling for lead is an excellent resource for more information about lead in drinking water and is intended to support the regulated community, parents and guardians.

Drinking water operator certification and training

Ontario’s drinking water system operators must be trained and certified according to the type and class of system they operate. Depending on the classification level of the drinking water system in question, operators must complete between 60 and 150 combined hours of continuing education and on-the-job training every three years to renew their certificates. Operators can hold multiple certificates, allowing them to work in more than one type of drinking water system.

As of April 1, 2025, Ontario had 8,018 certified drinking water operators, holding 11,900 certificates in total. Of these operators, 194 were employed as system operators in First Nations across the province and held 281 combined drinking water operator certificates.

The Walkerton Clean Water Centre provides training for operators and owners of drinking water systems province-wide, with a focus on small and remote communities, including First Nations. Since the Walkerton Clean Water Centre opened its doors in 2004 more than 125,000 participants have been provided with high-quality training programs for operators, owners and operating authorities regarding water treatment equipment, technology and Ontario’s drinking water regulatory requirements. Operator training programs also cover environmental issues such as water conservation and energy efficiency, with the aim of increasing the sustainability of drinking water operations.

Actions to support the delivery of clean, safe drinking water in Ontario

Audit on the safety of non-municipal drinking water

The Office of the Auditor General’s 2025 Performance Report — Safety of Non-Municipal Drinking Water was released in March 2025. 

The Office of the Auditor General of Ontario (OAGO) conducted an audit of non-municipal drinking water to assess whether the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) and the Ministry of Health (MOH), in conjunction with Public Health Ontario (PHO) and local public health units (PHU), have effective processes and systems in place to support reliable and equitable access to safe non-municipal drinking water across the province by:

  • overseeing non-municipal drinking water systems, drinking water laboratories, private wells and private intakes, and their compliance with applicable legislation, regulations and policies
  • identifying and managing risks to the health and safety of Ontarians related to non-municipal drinking water
  • measuring, evaluating and publicly reporting on the safety of Ontario’s non-municipal drinking water

The Auditor General's report contained positive feedback on the provincial framework for protecting drinking water from non-municipal systems, including recognition that the non-municipal drinking water and enforcement program has effective processes, and that the laboratory compliance program was meeting all requirements.

The Auditor General’s report also noted some areas for improvement, including the need to better educate well owners on the proper decommissioning of abandoned wells. The report also recommended that the province further evaluate the feasibility of increasing protections for non-municipal drinking water sources.

The ministry has accepted the six recommendations in the Auditor General's report directed to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks related to the reporting of Ontario Drinking Water Advisory Council advice, non-municipal drinking water system inspections, treatment exemptions, well records, well abandonment and source protection for non-municipal drinking water.

Work is already underway for many of the recommendations including an IT modernization project for well licencing and information, and initiatives to improve the procedural efficiencies of municipal drinking water system inspections.

Cybersecurity

The danger of cybersecurity attacks on public infrastructure, including municipal drinking water systems, wastewater systems and laboratories, continues to grow. These threats can result in loss of data and compromise the ability of municipal utilities to provide clean and safe drinking water.

Although there have been no cybersecurity incidents in Ontario that have impacted drinking water quality or significantly impacted drinking water operations, this government takes cybersecurity very seriously and will continue to take action to help reduce the risk of cybersecurity attacks.

The ministry has issued multiple advisories to drinking water system owners and operators to highlight specific cybersecurity threats and emphasize the importance of proactive cybersecurity programs.

All municipal residential drinking water systems in Ontario are required to evaluate and mitigate against cybersecurity threats as part of risk assessments conducted in accordance with Ontario’s Drinking Water Quality Management Standard. These requirements are designed to support safe, secure, and resilient water infrastructure across Ontario.

Additional information about cybersecurity is available at Ontario.ca/cybersecurity.

Drinking water and wastewater operator workforce strategy

The ministry led a multi-ministry project to assess challenges and identify measures needed to help ensure that Ontario has a strong and sustainable drinking water and wastewater operator workforce to safeguard drinking water.  

The project was supported by a multi-ministry team and provincial agency, an executive steering committee, and engagement of external stakeholder and partner working groups. The project assessed barriers to entry, training and career progression, and identified measures to support workers entering and progressing in the sector.

The ministry collected input in 2023 and 2024 from stakeholders and partner working groups including industry associations, employers, Indigenous industry representatives and post-secondary education institutions. Committee members provided summarized working group recommendations to the executive steering committee. Ministry staff are in the process of finalizing a comprehensive strategy to support water operator recruitment and retention in Ontario.

Accreditation audits of drinking water systems and drinking water testing services

Licensed laboratories and operating authorities of municipal residential drinking water systems are required to be accredited by third-party organizations designated as accreditation bodies for the purpose of accreditation under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002.

In 2025, operating authorities for drinking water systems were accredited under the Drinking Water Quality Management Standard. As of the Minister’s Annual Report publication date, no drinking water system accreditations had been revoked or suspended throughout the year.

All laboratories with valid licences to test for drinking water were accredited to the requirements of the standard for testing and calibration of laboratories. One laboratory voluntarily withdrew from its accreditation body in 2024, which resulted in the ministry suspending its drinking water testing licence.  These measures prevent the laboratory from testing drinking water parameters until it has the proper accreditation in place.

Actions to support First Nations communities

First Nations communities in Ontario continue to face many challenges with the operations and maintenance of their drinking water systems and many continue to experience long-term drinking water advisories.

As of October 17, 2025, there were 38 long-term drinking water advisories impacting 36 First Nations communities in Canada. 27 of those advisories are affecting 26 communities in Ontario. Significant challenges in these communities include technical deficiencies in water treatment systems, infrastructure challenges, and a shortage of trained water system operators to operate the systems. Many affected communities in remote northern regions also have compounding logistical and operational difficulties.

The ministry continues to work in collaboration with the Walkerton Clean Water Centre and the Ontario Clean Water Agency to support projects related to First Nations’ drinking water systems. The ministry also continues to share its engineering experience and source water protection expertise with First Nations communities, upon request, to support infrastructure solutions and sustainable water management in First Nations’ communities.

Walkerton Clean Water Centre

The Walkerton Clean Water Centre makes its state-of-the-art facility and highly skilled research and training staff available to meet the specific needs of drinking water operators in First Nations communities.

The centre continues to deliver specific training to build capacity and support First Nations’ drinking water systems and their operators, management, and community leadership. As of October 2025, the Walkerton Clean Water Centre has trained 289 First Nation operators to Ontario’s standards with the Entry-Level Course, so they can pursue their Class I drinking water operator certification. The centre has also trained 281 Chiefs and band councillors, managers and supervisors on their responsibilities in managing those systems.

The Walkerton Clean Water Centre also continues to develop new curriculum for its training catalogue with newly launched courses, such as: “Introduction to First Nations Guidance Documents”, “Watermain Construction and Maintenance” and “Drinking Water Advisories in First Nation Communities”.

A pilot testing service to evaluate the feasibility or performance of water treatment strategies and technologies is also offered by the centre, upon request by interested First Nations. This service gives operators of First Nations’ water systems the opportunity to see the application of different treatment options for addressing their particular water quality challenges. Since initiating the program in 2016, the Walkerton Clean Water Centre has completed 26 pilot testing projects for First Nations’ systems with four more projects currently underway.

The centre is in the last year of a three-year First Nations Drinking Water Project, aimed at enhancing the capacity of First Nations communities to resolve issues that contribute to long-term drinking water advisories and to improve the long-term sustainability of water infrastructure. The project has included engaging with community leaders and operators of First Nations’ drinking water systems, to help identify gaps in the First Nations’ drinking water services. The project is also developing new approaches to help strengthen and improve how such services are delivered, specific to the concerns raised by participants.

The analysis of the data from the engagement sessions provided insights into operational challenges and highlighted key areas for enhanced services and support. The Walkerton Clean Water Centre is currently working on implementing new approaches in response to the project’s research results.

Ontario Clean Water Agency

As a trusted partner to municipalities, First Nation communities, businesses, governments and institutions across Ontario, the Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) has more than 30 years of experience in safely and efficiently operating water and wastewater treatment, distribution and collection systems across Ontario.

Throughout 2024-2025, OCWA worked with a third-party reconciliation expert, in consultation with the First Nations Advisory Circle and other First Nations organizations, to develop a Reconciliation Action Plan for the agency.  The Reconciliation Action Plan assesses OCWAs current state regarding its work with First Nations people and communities, identifies issues and gaps, and includes a plan to enhance the agency’s reconciliation actions.  

OCWA is also working to build and promote water and wastewater services that respond to First Nations' needs.  This includes refining and expanding existing service offerings that have proven effective and valuable to First Nations and developing or adapting services that address issues faced by First Nations communities.  Areas of focus include the provision of asset management and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) services, utilization of remote monitoring and electronic logs, and the provision of capital project management and emergency response services.

Drinking water source protection

In 2025, a ministry-funded project was completed by Beausoleil First Nation  following the Best practices for source water protection guide. Activities completed included characterizing the sources of water in the community, identifying risks to water quality and preparing a plan to address those risks.

Actions to protect water sources

Actions to improve the ecological health of Lake Erie and its watersheds 

Lake Erie supplies more than 12 million people on both sides of the Ontario-U.S. border with drinking water.  As the shallowest and most biologically productive of the Great Lakes, it is highly susceptible to harmful and nuisance algal blooms and oxygen depleted zones which can result in clogged water intakes and degraded water quality at drinking water intakes.

Since 2018, Ontario, with Canada and other partners, has been working to reduce phosphorus loads to address harmful and nuisance algae and low oxygen zones in Lake Erie through the Canada-Ontario Lake Erie Action Plan (LEAP). The LEAP is an implementation partner-based initiative supporting actions and activities to achieve the phosphorus load reduction target of 40% to address harmful and nuisance algal blooms and low oxygen levels in Lake Erie. The implementation of the LEAP is important for protecting the shared waters of the Great Lakes, and meeting Ontario’s commitments under the Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health and the Great Lakes Protection Act, 2015.

25 Years of Groundwater monitoring in Ontario

In 2025, Ontario marks 25 years of the Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network — an important initiative that helps protect the province’s groundwater, which is a vital source of drinking water for many communities and provides baseflow to streams, lakes, and aquatic ecosystems.

Launched in 2000 in response to the 1999 drought and the Walkerton tragedy, the Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network tracks groundwater health across much of southern Ontario and parts of northern Ontario. It is a partnership between the ministry, Ontario’s Conservation Authorities, and the Severn Sound Environmental Association.

The network monitors hourly water levels at 480 wells, collects water quality data from 380 of those wells, and tracks precipitation at 66 locations. This data helps scientists and decision-makers understand how groundwater is changing over time and how it is influenced by climate, land use, and seasonal patterns.

Groundwater is a hidden but essential part of Ontario’s water system. The Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network plays a critical role in:

  • Identifying long-term trends in groundwater quality and quantity
  • Supporting local water management and Source Protection Plans
  • Contributing to national and binational efforts like the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and the Canada-Ontario Agreement on the Great Lakes

Recent enhancements to the monitoring program include additional sampling in the spring to better understand seasonal and climate-related impacts on groundwater.

The role of the Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network in protecting private drinking water sources

More than 2.5 million Ontarians rely on groundwater as the source for their drinking water, including through over 1.3 million private wells. Unlike municipal and communal drinking water systems, private wells are not routinely required by provincial regulation to be sampled and tested for water quality.  This means that private well owners are responsible for testing their own well water in accordance with their local public health unit’s guidance. That is where the Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network plays a vital supporting role.

Why groundwater monitoring data is important to private well owners

Clean Water Act and source water protection update

While Public Health Ontario’s free water testing provides essential information to participating owners of individual private drinking water wells, the Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network data also provides valuable regional context to help private well users make informed decisions. The network:

  • tracks long-term trends in groundwater quality and quantity
  • detects risks from natural and human sources, such as arsenic, fluoride, salt, and nutrients
  • supports Source Protection Plans and informs well siting and maintenance
  • indicates early warning of regional issues like drought or contamination

For example, if a Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network well exceeds a health-based Ontario Drinking Water Quality Standard for metals or nutrients, local health units are informed by the ministry and can investigate and notify nearby well owners if needed.  Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network wells are not tested for pathogens or viruses.

Accessing the data

Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network data is available to the public through the Ontario Data Catalogue. Well owners, consultants, and local agencies can use this information to compare their own test results with regional trends and better understand the health of their groundwater source.

The Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network helps ensure that private well users, especially in rural and agricultural areas, have access to the information they need to protect their drinking water now and into the future.

By offering a broader view of groundwater conditions, the Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network empowers private well users to make informed decisions about their water supply.

Learn more

Clean Water Act, 2006 and source water protection update

Ontario continues to ensure our municipal sources of drinking water are protected through ongoing oversight and implementation of the source protection program under the Clean Water Act, 2006. Local source protection authorities (generally, conservation authorities), along with 19 source protection committees, support implementing source protection plans and keep them up to date.

Source protection plans have been in effect for all 38 source protection areas in Ontario since 2016 and apply to almost 440 municipal drinking water systems and 3 First Nations’ systems. These locally developed plans contain policies to protect sources of drinking water from risks such as the application, handling and storage of road salt, pesticides, or fuel and other activities that can be detrimental to the quality and quantity of drinking water.

Ontario funds source protection authorities to carry out their responsibilities and supports municipalities in protecting sources of drinking water. In 2025, the ministry facilitated work through transfer payment agreements with source protection authorities across the province.  This year approximately $6.8 million was disbursed to recipients to support meeting requirements under the Clean Water Act, 2006.

The ministry also supports municipalities by providing training to risk management officials and inspectors, so they are qualified to carry out their duties under the Clean Water Act, 2006. Two full training courses were delivered in 2024-2025.

As populations move and grow in Ontario, municipal drinking water systems need to be adapted accordingly to support new developments, and source protection plans also need to be updated to help ensure new or changed drinking water sources are protected. Plans may also be updated to reflect new science or new policy approaches to mitigate drinking water threats.

Eight source protection plans were amended in 2024-2025 to update science, incorporate changes to drinking water systems, and address implementation challenges. Some of the technical work conducted over 2024-2025 focused on delineation of protection zones around drinking water sources where activities can impact the quality of sources of drinking water. This included assessing drinking water threats such as wastewater, stormwater management activities, road salt activities, and handling and storage of fuel, as well as aligning the source protection plan with the latest Technical Rules made in 2021 under the Clean Water Act, 2006. For example:

  • In the Trent Conservation Coalition source protection plan, the wellhead protection area for the King’s Bay drinking water system was changed to incorporate a new well to service a growing community within the City of Kawartha Lakes.
  • In the Saugeen, Grey Sauble, Northern Bruce Peninsula Source Protection Plan, wellhead protection areas for the Minto Pines and Scott Point drinking water systems were amended to incorporate new, reliable wells which have replaced older wells. The amendment also included a new policy encouraging municipal discretionary septic system inspections in the Lake Rosalind community and an updated snow storage policy to align with the 2021 Director’s Technical Rules.

By the end of 2024, local source protection authorities reported that, cumulatively:

  • Over 260 municipalities have completed and/or are updating their official plans to conform with source protection plan policies that aim to manage or prevent risks associated with specific activities to help ensure they do not contaminate or deplete sources of drinking water.
  • More than 2,100 property-specific risk management plans are in place across the province, covering over 2,600 properties and addressing over 3,900 drinking water threat activities, such as the handling and storage of road salt, fuel, and organic solvents, among other activities.
  • Provincial ministries have completed 100% of the reviews and amendments to the prescribed instruments (for example, permits, approvals, licences, etc.) that govern existing drinking water threat activities.
  • Nearly 7,300 septic systems are undergoing regularly scheduled inspections.
  • Over 2,200 road signs have been installed across the province on certain municipal roads and provincial highways to help increase awareness of drinking water protection zones.

The source protection authorities also note accomplishments in their continuous effort to protect sources of drinking water. For example:

  • The Halton Hamilton Source Protection Region (HHSPR) via Conservation Halton completed a climate change vulnerability assessment of the 10 municipal drinking water systems in the HHSPR and the City of Hamilton’s Lynden Settlement Area drinking water system. The ministry’s Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Tool (CCVAT) was utilized to evaluate the risks that climate change poses to the quality of drinking water. Climate change factors such as temperature increase, changes in rainfall patterns, and extreme weather events were considered, as well as the systems’ adaptive capacity or ability to mitigate or cope with these impacts. The assessment involved collecting and analysing climate data for both historical and future trends, and incorporating evaluations of exposure, sensitivity, and impact for each system.
  • The City of Toronto developed a Spill Response Plan for water treatment and provided staff with a framework of how to gather information about a spill, model the spill using the Lake Ontario Water Quality Forecasting System (LOWQFS), interpret results, assess the potential water quality impact at the drinking water treatment plant intakes in Toronto and neighbouring municipalities, and notify internal operations and neighbouring municipalities of the spill. Changes were proposed to the City’s Spill Contingency Plan to integrate the use of the LOWQFS with the City’s spill response procedures.
  • The Quinte Source Protection Authority hosted 6 local Drinking Water Wise Webinar series in 2024, which attracted 885 registrants and approximately 770 YouTube views. Topics covered included Realty and Rural Drinking Water, Rural Drinking Water and Human Health, Drinking Water Testing and Treatment, Groundwater 101, Harmful Algal Blooms, and Climate Change.
  • The Saugeen, Grey Sauble, Northern Bruce Peninsula Source Protection Region discussed salt storage, handling, and application best management practices (BMPs) with municipal staff. Articles were published in cooperation with local Bruce and Grey County Federation of Agriculture groups in Rural Voice Magazine on karst formations (for example, sinkhole and cave) and best management practices for farm activities in these vulnerable areas.
  • The Trent Conservation Coalition Source Protection Region focused on road salt education and outreach with their Salt Responsibly campaign. This included new stickers to be placed on road salt boxes and an interactive story map with information, science, and actions that the public can take to reduce the threat of road salt on sources of drinking water.

To help ensure communities and individuals with drinking water systems not covered by provincially-approved source protection plans have access to a range of simple, cost-effective tools to protect their drinking water sources, the ministry provided guidance on voluntary Best Practices for Source Water Protection. Released in 2022, this guide provides information and tips that may help First Nations, other communities, and private landowners such as farmers and cottagers take steps to protect their sources of drinking water.

  • The ministry works with source protection authorities, First Nations and others to implement these best practices. For example, in 2025, funding was provided to Beausoleil First Nation and the Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations for projects that would characterize the sources of drinking water, identify risks to water quality, and support preparation of plans to address those risks.

Accelerating and improving protections for drinking water sources

After 20 years, Ontario is building on our lived experience and is modernizing the Clean Water Act, 2006 to remove outdated requirements, accelerate approvals and ensure timely protection for sources of municipal drinking water. These updates will reduce administrative burden, support housing and infrastructure development, and maintain strong environmental and public health safeguards.

In fall 2025, amendments were made to the Clean Water Act, 2006 to streamline the amendment process for existing source protection plans that protect sources of municipal drinking water. These amendments will come into force on a date to be named in a commencement order.  Once the amendments are in effect, they will enable local source protection authorities to approve routine plan amendments, simplify consultation processes and enhance transparency and accountability, while maintaining strong protections and oversight for our sources of drinking water. Where Minister’s approval of a plan amendment is required, the Minister has 120 days to approve the amendment or to require changes or additional consultation and resubmission.  

Other changes to the Clean Water Act, 2006 include changing how policies affecting prescribed instruments, such as certain licences and permits, are used to manage risks to drinking water. These changes include limiting the types of such policies that may be included in source protection plans and enabling the standardization of the language in these policies and the standardization of requirements to document and report on the implementation of these policies. The ministry is also working on regulations to support these statutory amendments.

Conclusion

Ontario’s drinking water protection program continues to evolve in response to emerging challenges, scientific advancements, and the diverse needs of communities and households across the province. The findings from the 2024–2025 Chief Drinking Water Inspector Report reaffirm the strength of our regulatory framework, while also highlighting areas where targeted action is needed to maintain public confidence and drinking water system resilience.

By upholding rigorous standards, investing in source protection, and supporting Indigenous communities, Ontario remains committed to promoting the delivery of clean, safe drinking water throughout the province. Continued collaboration, transparency, and innovation will be essential as we navigate future risks and opportunities.

Protecting drinking water is a shared responsibility. Through coordinated efforts across ministries, municipalities, First Nations, operators, and the public, we can help to ensure that Ontario’s drinking water systems remain safe.