An ecosystem approach to planning for groundwater: The case of Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Abstract

Sustaining the human-ecological benefits of groundwater requires carefully planned strategies for reducing the cumulative risks posed by diverse human actions. Municipal governments in Ontario, Canada, play a key role in developing solutions to groundwater management and protection. The responsibility to provide drinking water and sewage works, regulate the use of private land, and protect public health provides the mandate and authority to take action. Waterloo Region, in the province of Ontario, contains the single largest population in Canada that uses groundwater as its primary source of drinking water. The region's Water Resources Protection Strategy provides a model of planning for groundwater at a regional scale.