Kettle Creek Source Protection Plan
The Kettle Creek Source Protection Plan establishes policies to appropriately and effectively address significant drinking water threats for the Elgin Area Primary Water Supply Intake and the Belmont Water Supply System, the only two municipal drinking water sources in the Kettle Creek watershed. The Ministry of the Environment approved the Kettle Creek Source Protection Plan on September 11, 2014, and the plan took effect on January 1, 2015.
Both of these water sources face no existing significant drinking water threats. However, some potential vulnerabilities have been identified, and policies specific to each water source have been put in place to prevent any activity from becoming a significant drinking water threat in the future.
A range of approaches have been used to address potential threats including outreach and education campaigns, updating municipal documents and in certain instances prohibiting activities immediately within the Belmont Wellhead Protection Areas or Intake Protection Zones in Port Stanley.
If you are planning on undertaking any new activities in these areas, please contact the Risk Management Office at the Municipality of Central Elgin by phone at 519-631-4860 ext. 277. The Risk Management Official reviews all planning permit applications and building permit applications for compliance with the Source Protection Plan. The Risk Management Official should be consulted before beginning any building projects or new activities within the Port Stanley Intake Protection Zone or the Belmont Wellhead Protection Area.
To find out more, please see the Lake Erie Source Protection Region’s website www.sourcewater.ca.
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Where Does Your Drinking Water Come From?
The Municipality of Central Elgin operates two groundwater wells in the village of Belmont. These wells currently supply 500 cubic metres of water per day to 1,900 residents.
The Belmont wells are artesian, meaning that the water flows under pressure without pumping. Both wells are approximately 42 metres deep and studies show that the water is more than 100 years old.
The Belmont municipal wells are fed by groundwater. This groundwater comes from rain or snow that seeps below ground and pools in cracks or spaces in the soils, sand and rock. The level of groundwater, or the water table, rises and falls depending on the season, temperature, amount of rain or snow and the amount of water withdrawn from the aquifer.
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Wellhead Protection Areas
A wellhead is simply the physical structure of the well above the ground. A wellhead protection area is the area surrounding the wellhead through which contaminants are reasonably likely to move toward or reach the well.
Because of their ability to cause significant drinking water threats, some activities are prohibited within the Belmont Wellhead Protection Area. Some are only prohibited within WHPA-A, the area within a 100-metre radius of the wellhead. Others are also prohibited within WHPA-B, and WHPA-C. This map and table illustrate the restrictions now in place to protect the drinking water supply of the Belmont municipal wells.
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