Earthroots has been working with Ecojustice to fight the controversial Westhill development in Aurora, where developers are trying to sneak a new golf course and 75 large residential units onto a protected portion of the Oak Ridges Moraine.  Stemming from this work, Earthroots and Ecojustice completed a study in July of 2008 examining the permits issued to 9 nearby golf courses by the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) authorizing the use of groundwater. Our findings were detailed in a report entitled ‘Ontario’s Water Hazard: the cumulative impact of golf courses on our water resources.’  Our research uncovered alarming realities about the MOE’s ‘permit to take water’ system, which is responsible for monitoring and sustainably allocating our public groundwater resources.

Ontario’s Water Hazard was picked up by the media, gaining front-page coverage in The Toronto Star, and generating a number of other stories on regional radio stations and newsprint outlets.  In the wake of the initial success of the study, Earthroots has secured generous grants from the Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation and McLean Foundation to complete a larger follow up study, examining the ground water takings of all of the golf courses, aggregate operations, industrial operations, and municipalities across the entire Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan area.

As a snapshot study of 9 golf courses, Ontario’s Water Hazard revealed a number of issues with expired permits, or permits issued in error. We also found that the depths of golf courses’ production wells are not listed on their respective permits to take water. On the Oak Ridges Moraine, which is made up of a series of separate underground aquifers found at different depths in the ground, this indicates that the Ministry is not tracking where within the ground golf courses and other permit holders are taking their water from when they issue or renew permits to take water. In other words, it would appear that the ministry is not measuring the cumulative impacts of all of the permits to take water that they issue.  

We also discovered that in the Aurora/Newmarket area where our case study took place, there are a high concentration of large groundwater users in a tight area (including 17 golf courses inside an 8 mile radius of the Westhill development), and that groundwater levels have been steadily declining in the area’s aquifer complex since at least 1997.  Under existing legislation, both of these factors respectfully trigger the need for the MOE to complete a cumulative impact assessment at the aquifer scale to ensure that groundwater takings are sustainable.  After conversations with representation from the MOE, it seems that the MOE is not meeting this legal requirement, and that no such cumulative impact study is being pursued, despite ongoing evidence that too much water is being removed from the area’s aquifers.  Rather, both Aurora and Newmarket have been forced to begin the inefficient process of piping water all the way from Lake Ontario to meet growing municipal demands that have historically been supplied solely from the Oak Ridges Moraine.  

Aurora as a whole uses approximately 5.4 billion litres of water a year for 50,000 residents.  In addition to this large number, the 9 golf courses we studied are being allocated a staggering 3.1 billion litres of groundwater per year by the MOE.  We say ‘allocated’ because to date golf courses have not been submitting monitoring data regarding their actual groundwater takings to the MOE, meaning that no one in the public is aware of how much water these courses are actually using.

Against a backdrop of declining groundwater levels and an alarmingly high concentration of large groundwater users in a small area, the proposed Westhill development in Aurora was issued a new permit to take water by the MOE for the servicing of a new golf course on this already over-taxed watershed.  This permit had to be revoked months later, as it was discovered that a necessary Environmental Assessment that should have been examined prior to issuing the permit to take water had not even been completed.  Given the controversial nature of the development and backdrop of groundwater issues in the area, this was a gross error on the part of the MOE. It would appear that not only is the MOE not monitoring the cumulative impacts of the permits it issues or ensuring that private use of public groundwater is sustainable, but that proponents can obtain these critical permits with a great deal of ease.

While we knew going into the Ontario Water Hazard Study that there were issues with groundwater in the Aurora/Newmarket area, we were still surprised and alarmed by our findings regarding these inadequacies and flaws in the permit to take water system and common practice at the MOE. To see so many issues through a snapshot study of only 9 golf courses in a small area was extremely concerning.

It is our hope that through a comprehensive follow up report looking at most large groundwater users across the Oak Ridges Moraine, we will be able to fulfill a number of objectives:
•    To more broadly assess the effectiveness of the MOE’s permit to take water system
•    To monitor and report on actual groundwater takings across the Moraine
•    To illuminate the lack of transparency surrounding the processes governing the allocation of our groundwater (a member of the public like yourself, or like Earthroots, should not have to go through a series of time-consuming and expensive Freedom of Information requests to find the information we are reporting on!)
•    To identify ‘hot spot’ areas like Aurora/Newmarket where there are high concentrations of large groundwater users and issues with declining groundwater levels
•    To compile a set of strict criteria for golf course management, requiring sustainable practices and transparency regarding groundwater usage and the use of pesticides and other chemicals
•    To hold the MOE accountable for its integral responsibility of sustainably stewarding our groundwater resources, and to provide recommendations to guide a more sustainable allocation of this public resource

The project is now underway: Freedom of Information requests have been filed for all relevant groundwater users on the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan area. Due to the quantity of information we have requested, the government office processing our request anticipates that the requested materials will be returned to us no sooner than May of 2010.  This puts us on a timeline for releasing a finished report towards the end of this summer.

In the meantime, please take the time to examine our Ontario's Water Hazard report, and campaign materials regarding the issue of golf courses on the Oak Ridges Moraine. Better yet, take action and write/e-mail the Premier and Minister of the Environment with your concerns regarding the mismanagement of our groundwater resources on the integral Oak Ridges Moraine!