Permits to take water

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.

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 Ontario’s waters for their 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
   • learn how to set up and manage a ministry account
2. determine your application category
3. for category 2 and 3 applications, review:
   • Technical guidance document for surface water studies
   • Technical guidance document for hydrogeological studies
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.

Review process

Screening and technical review

Once your application is submitted, we conduct a comprehensive review to ensure water takings are sustainable and compliant with regulations. Applications undergo an initial screening to verify that the application is complete and if required, the are 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.

Find and track a PTTW application

Monitoring and reporting

Reporting is required as part of permit holder obligations under Ontario Regulation 387/04 — Water Taking and Transfer. You must collect, record and keep records for the daily volumes of water taken. The volume of water taken daily must be reported to us on or before March 31 each year, for each location from which water was taken in the previous calendar year. If no water was taken, then a “no taking” must be reported.

You can report this information in the Regulatory Self-Reporting System (RSRS) by signing into your My Ontario Account and accessing the “Manage permissions” section of your environmental permissions online services account. Learn more about reporting in RSRS.

If your permit was not issued through the online services for environmental permissions, you will continue to report your water takings in the Water Taking Reporting System (WTRS). Learn more about reporting in WTRS.

Updating information

Administrative and technical changes

If your PTTW application is under review, contact your reviewer if anything regarding the water taking proposal or applicant information changes. If you do not know who your reviewer is, contact us.

If you have an active PTTW issued by the ministry and require changes to your permitted water taking, please submit an Administrative Change or Amendment to Permit application within 30 days of any such change. Note that proposed amendments requiring technical review may be subject to a Category 3 application fee and require associated supporting technical information.

Ownership change

Section 34.1 of the Ontario Water Resources Act authorizes the issuing of PTTWs to a specific person or organization. If you are reporting any change of ownership of the property to which a PTTW applies, the person taking over the property must apply for an Ownership Change within 30 days of any such change and include the following information in addition to a complete  application:

• a signed letter from the previous PTTW holder, or the PTTW holder’s authorized representative, confirming that there is no objection to the change in ownership
• proof of legal name of the applicant

Contact us if you have further questions about updating your PTTW.

Water taking reporting changes

You are able to update your submitted water takings through the RSRS, under Post Approval Submissions. Indicate the reason for updating your submitted water takings and provide the updated information.

Renewing your PTTW

PTTWs are issued with an expiry date. If you are issued a PTTW, please take note of when it expires. You should apply to renew your PTTW six months prior to the expiry date.

If your PTTW has been cancelled, revoked or expired within the last 12 months, you can apply to renew:

• a cancelled or revoked permit up to the original expiry date of the prior PTTW if the renewed takings are the same as the previously approved takings
• an expired PTTW to continue the previously approved water takings for up to 1 year while the application for a longer-term renewal is being considered

Renewals of cancelled or revoked and interim PTTWs must meet the following conditions:

• the application must be for a taking that had been previously occurring under a PTTW that had been issued by the ministry
• the proponent must submit the application within one year of the cancellation, expiry or revocation of the permit
• the proposed taking of water must be from the same location and for the same amount or less as was approved under the previously issued permit to take water
• the proposed taking of water must be for the same purpose as imposed under the previously issued PTTW

If approved, the interim PTTW would allow water taking for the same purpose and location and under the same conditions as the previous PTTW while the renewal application is being reviewed.

Contact us

For more information about environmental permissions, contact the Client Services and Permissions Branch:

• Tel: 416-314-8001 (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
• Toll-free: 1-800-461-6290 (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
• enviropermissions@ontario.ca