Abstracts

Hugh C. Simpson
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, University of Guelph, Guelph,
Ontario, Canada
Robert C. de Loë
Department of Environment and Resource Studies, University of Waterloo, Waterloo,
Ontario, Canada
Historically, the development and implementation of groundwater policy has been guided
almost exclusively by expert science and traditional risk analysis. This approach has worked
well for environmental problems that are relatively simple and predictable. Unfortunately,
many of the environmental problems that are being faced by decision makers can be classified
as complex problems.
Examples include the management and protection or groundwater resources. Complex environmental
problems are a particular challenge because they are ‘quasi-scientific’, requiring
more than scientific knowledge needs to be considered during the problem-solving process.
Current research indicates that a broader and more inclusive risk analysis approach is needed
for addressing complex environmental problems. A key part of this broader approach
is involving members of affected communities so that local experiential knowledge, and
societal beliefs and values, can be incorporated with expert science during the discussion
and negotiation of solutions to complex problems. This is a difficult challenge for the
expert science community, and requires a shift from the inwardly-focused traditional approach
to a more open and inclusive process for groundwater policy development and
implementation.
This paper explores elements of the paradigm shift that appears to be taking place in the
development and implementation of groundwater policy. First, the criteria that qualify
groundwater management and protection as a complex environmental problem are presented.
Second, an alternative to the traditional approach – collaborative environmental
problem-solving – is discussed. Finally, some examples of how collaborative environmental
problem-solving is being implemented into groundwater policy are presented.
124 - Implementing Source Protection in York Region
Scott Lister
York Region, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
This talk will discuss the preparation for implementation of Part IV of the Clean Water
Act’s source water protection requirements in York Region. This will include a discussion
of tools and techniques used to identify, investigate and manage over 1,000 water quality
threats to drinking water sources in York Region, Ontario, focusing on protection of forty-one
municipal drinking water wells. Threats were investigated using several methods
of outreach, including site visits with business owners and farmers to complete surveys.
Generally speaking, under the proposed Source Protection Plans existing threats must be
managed using Risk Management Plans (RMPs), while proposed activities that would be
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